Utah Set to Scare ASU and No. 21 Arizone

November 2, 2015

Match-up: Utah vs. Arizona State
Date: Friday, Oct. 30
Kickoff: 7 p.m. MT
Location: Ute Field
Promotion: Blackout and Halloween Costume Contest
Live Stream
Live Stats

Match-up: Utah vs. No. 21 Arizona
Date: Sunday, Nov. 1
Kickoff: 1 p.m. MT
Location: Ute Field
Live Stream
Live Stats

Weekend at a Glance

Utah soccer (5-9-3, 2-6-0) returns home this weekend for a pair of contests against Arizona State (7-7-1, 3-4-1) and No. 21 Arizona (11-4-1, 5-3-0). The annual Blackout game will be held Friday night against the Sun Devils with kick-off at 7 p.m. The Utes then welcome the Wildcats on Sunday with a start time of 1 p.m. Both matches will be streamed live through UtahUtes.com

Manning Makes History
With the victory over Oregon State, Rich Manning earned his 150th career win at Utah. During his tenure, Manning has established Utah soccer as an elite program in the west.

Manning has coached the Utes to an NCAA Tournament berth in six of his years at the helm. Prior to joining the Pac-12, Manning directed Utah to three Mountain West Conference regular-season championships (2003, `05, `06) and a pair of league tournament titles (2003, `04).

Luke Leading the Way
Utah soccer’s Lindsey Luke was named the Pac-12 Goalkeeper of the Week on October 6 for her performances in shutouts of Oregon State and Oregon.

Luke made three saves in the 1-0 victory over the Ducks and was then called into action six times against the Beavers. The goalkeeper helped the Utes capture consecutive shutouts against league opponents for the first time in two years.

No Utah player has earned more accolades from the Pac-12 in program history than Luke. This was the seventh time she has been named Goalkeeper of the Week and second time this season. An All-Pac-12 performer and NSCAA All-Region selection, Luke needs 25 saves to set the Utah career mark.

She currently ranks third in the Pac-12 with 4.24 saves per contest and for her career, she ranks eighth nationally in saves (348), 12th in minutes played (6.72) and 17th in shutouts (24).

Trabert a Team Leader
During her four years at Utah, Megan Trabert has been a stalwart in defense. The team captain has started every game since arriving on campus, playing almost every minute in the process.

Last season she tied for the team lead with four goals and finished with three assists, giving her 10 points. Not only is she a fantastic player, but she also excels off the field, as she was selected to the CoSIDA Academic All-District team as well as being named a Pac-12 All-Academic choice for the second-straight year.

Megan’s grandfather, Tony, was a former Wimbledon, U.S. Open, and French Open champion and the no. 1- ranked tennis player in the world.

Last Weekend’s Results
The Utes lost a pair of games in Los Angles with consecutive 1-0 setbacks at No. 24 USC and UCLA. Utah has not scored in its last five matches, the longest drought since the 2010 season.

Utah’s New Class
The Utes added eight true freshmen to the team for the 2015 season; Max Flom, Eden Jacobsen, Paige Johnson, Allie Millerberg, Hailey Skolmoski, Shelby Stewart, Liberty Taylor and Paola van der Veen.

Skolmoski started every game but suffered a season-ending knee injury vs. UW. Van der Veen has played 15 contests, starting 14, missing time due to an illness. Jacobsen has started seven contests and Flom four while both have appeared in every game. Millerberg and Taylor have also seen action this year for the Utes.

Mariah Made Immediate Impact
In her first season with the Utes, Mariah Elmer scored three goals, including the game-winner at local foe Utah State. She played in 17 games, starting three, before incurring a late-season injury.

With her two goals in the win over USD, she became the first player to have a multi-goal game for the Utes since teammate Megan Trabert two seasons ago at Washington State. Elmer was tied for the team lead with three goals this season before suffering a season-ending leg injury.

Utah has placed a player on the All-Freshman team all four seasons since joining the Pac-12 as teammates Katie Rogers and Lindsey Luke were also honored after their debut campaigns.

Series History
The Utes are 6-7-0 all-time against Arizona, 3-3-0 in SLC. Utah lost last season here at home but earned a win in Tucson during the 2013 campaign when Taylor Slattery scored the winner in overtime.

Utah is 3-5-0 all-time against Arizona State, losing the last three meetings. All of the Ute wins in this series have occurred here at home. Seniors Kaycee Buckley (2012) and Megan Trabert (2014) have each scored against the Sun Devils.

Scouting the Opposition
ASU is unbeaten in its last four contests and Cali Farquharson was recently named a finalist for the Lowes Senior CLASS Award. The senior ranks fourth in the league in points thanks to six goals (T2 - P12) and four assists (T9 - P12). Junior Lucy Lara leads the Sun Devils with five assists, good for second in the Pac-12. Senior Sara Tosti anchors the backline and is the reigning Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week. Senior Chandler Morris has recorded six shutouts in goal, good for third in the Pac-12

Arizona has won three in a row to rise in the national rankings. Sophomore Gabi Stoian leads the league with eight assists and also ranks second in points and tied for second with six goals. Junior Jaden DeGracie is currently tied for ninth in the Pac-12 with four assists. Arizona’s defense has been impressive all season in terms of allowing goals. The Wildcats allow an average of 1.05 goals per match, which equates to one goal every 86 minutes.

Searching for the Breakthrough
The Utes have not beaten a Top 25 squad in their last 22 games dating back to a 1-0 victory over Oregon State on 10/14/11. That was also the last home win over a ranked team, going 0-7-3 since that contest.

Utah Soccer Earns NSCAA Academic Awards
The Utah women’s soccer team earned a NSCAA Team Academic Award for the sixth year in a row and 14th time overall. The award started being handed out in 1996 and the Utes are second among Pac-12 schools (Washington, 15).

A total of 554 soccer teams over three divisions posted a team grade point average of 3.0 or higher, thereby earning the NSCAA Team Academic Award for the 2014-15 academic year. Utah posted a 3.41 team GPA and was third among all Pac-12 teams for the academic year.

Utah had three players, including returnee Katie Rogers, named as NSCAA Women’s University Division Scholar All-West Region honorees.

Season Ticket Scarves
Season tickets are $20 and come with a Utah Soccer Scarf. Your scarf serves as your season ticket and will get you admission to all home games. All seating is general admission. To get your 2015 season ticket scarf, visit http://utahtickets.com/soccer/#single-games or call 801-581-UTIX.

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