The Utah soccer team suffered its first loss of the season on Sunday, Aug. 21 against Minnesota. After their 4-0 victory over Weber State two days prior, the Utes fell short against the Golden Gophers, and lost 3-0.
“I think we played a very good team,” said head coach Rich Manning. “It brought in new dimensions of athleticism, aggressiveness and good soccer, but it kind of exposed some things we need to work on for next week.”
Even though the team put in aggressiveness during the game, it wasn’t enough for Manning, adding that the girls have to be more aggressive and improve on some things defensively.
Manning also added that the girls need to work on covering for each other. They need to understand their roles and the roles of everyone else for next week’s game against San Diego, but they also need to create more opportunities to score.
“We just got to keep improving step by step,” Manning said. “Today was a good opportunity to learn some things from the game and get back on the practice field this week and try to get better, so I think that is really what our focus is going to be.”
Summer training
During the summer, Utah traveled to Germany for 10 days in May to compete in three matches. While there, the team traveled to Frankfurt, Munich and Augsburg, playing against SC Opel 06 Rüsselheim, MTV Dießen and FC Staad.
While the team was still in Germany, it took part in a Bundesliga game between FC Augsburg and Hamburger SV, visited a TSV Hoffenheim practice, and toured the Allianz Arena, the home of Bundesliga champion Bayern Munich.
As the team traveled internationally, some new players also spent their summer abroad, getting in the extra training before heading off to college.
Freshman Holly Daugird traveled to New Zealand to compete for the U.S. Under-19 Women’s National Team in three matches after completing a training camp in Chula Vista, CA. During the 12 days spent in New Zealand, Daugirda and the Women’s National Team took a 2-1 victory over the New Zealand National Team, and it tied in a 4-4 draw against the New Zealand Under-20 Team.
“A lot of the girls spent a lot of their hours during the summer getting fit and getting some touches in this summer,” Manning said. “I think that is very important and hopefully it continues on as we go through the season.”
Players to watch out for this season
After their first two games, the Utes showcased some players who will stand out this season including Daugirda, newcomers Haylee Cacciacarne, Ireland Dunn, Tavia Leachman, and Carly Nelson, who have all had great starts to their season.
“My first game went really well,” Daugirda said. “I was really happy with my performance.”
Manning listed senior Katie Rogers, senior Taylor Slattery, junior Natalie Vukic, junior Janie Kearl, and sophomore Hailey Skolmoski as the five people who he thinks will be important to watch this season. He also mentioned that the team’s best player, Paola Van Der Veen, is among those who are returning.
“[Van Der Veen] is really talented, and I think she will make some great plays with year,” Manning said.
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