Sophomore Hailey Skolmoski has been a bright spot for the Utah soccer team.
Skolmoski has scored 11 goals this season, which puts her 12th in the nation. Skolmoski is also the first Utah player to score five goals during conference. With only two more goals to go, Skolmoski is on track to place fourth on the single-season Utah charts.
“It is an amazing feeling, but [my performance] belongs to my team, because we are all playing well right now,” Skolmoski said. “We are creating opportunities to score and win. As cool as it is to win it myself, it is also my team’s as well.”
Head coach Rich Manning said that Skolmoski is having a great season after coming off of a season-ending injury last season. Even with everything going against her, Manning feels Skolmoski’s season has been spectacular.
“The quality she brings to the team is that she has soccer courage,” Manning said. “When she is out there, she is fearless, and she wants to make plays for the team. She has physical courage, and she has good soccer sense. She is just a dangerous player.”
Shutting out the opponents
While Skolmoski has been scoring the winning goals for her team, sophomore July Mathias has been making a name for herself this season. Mathias currently has the second best single-season goals against average in the history of the Utah soccer team with a 0.55 average, ranking her 22nd in the nation.
“July has been very good through the season and she is growing and getting better,” Manning said. “When Carly [Nelson] was injured in the Arizona State game and was out for a little bit, July really stepped up and owned the position. I can see her confidence growing for sure.”
After goalkeeper Lindsey Luke graduated, Nelson and Mathias had some pretty big shoes to fill. According to Manning, both goalkeepers have done great this year in protecting the goal and shutting out games.
“They organize the team, help start the offense and snuff out danger,” Manning said. “Both July and Carly have been very good this season, which is why their stats are near the top of all the Pac-12 and in the nation.”
Team IMPACT
Team IMPACT, an organization that focuses on children who are facing life-threatening and chronic illnesses, connects with a team in the hopes that the team can help improve the quality of the children’s lives, and it has become a part of the Utah soccer program.
Ariauna Christensen, a 13-year old from West Valley suffering from Fanconi anemia, a disease that affects the bone marrow and decreases the production of blood cells, has officially joined the Utah soccer team.
“Cabria Turang, who is one of the Crimson Council reps, kind of took the lead on this,” Manning said. “It was brought up that a young lady in the area wanted to get connected to a team through Team IMPACT,” Manning said. “So Cabria took the lead on it and met the Team IMPACT people to get it set up.”
After signing with the Utes, Christensen has been coming to team practice and she was even seen with the team at the Washington State game. According to Manning, she helps out the team whenever and wherever she can.
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