For the first time this season, the No. 17 University of Utah soccer team (3-0-0) will hit the road as it travels to Los Angeles, California for a matchup with Loyola Marymount (1-1-1) on Friday, Sep. 1. The Utes are coming off of a 9-0 victory against North Dakota State, and junior Max Flom is proud of the way her team played that match, as Utah found success putting the ball in the back of the net.
“I think it’s really easy to go up a few goals, kind of lay back and think our work is done or it’s enough, and also think they aren’t going to catch up,” Flom said. “But we just kept trying to keep the creativity going. I think that is mostly a mental task, saying that we know we are up, but we have to keep trying. It was hot, but we worked through it and it was a good game.”
Against the Lions, Flom feels one challenge the Utes will face will be the lack of Utah fans cheering them on because of the travel distance. The Utes will be in charge of bringing the energy themselves from the beginning. According to Flom, they hope they’ll start the game on the right foot and continue efficiently throughout the match. They also want to get the first shot on goal, win the ball back if they lose it, keep the energy going on the sidelines and celebrate the little victories.
Flom sees this weekend as another opportunity for her and her team to prove themselves on the field and keep improving as the Utes prepare for Pac-12 play, and head coach Rich Manning sees it as an opportunity to be successful on the road.
“[LMU] is road game for us, we are going to be on its field,” Manning said. “It’s important for us that we develop the mindset and the energy level to be successful on the road, so that’s a big focus for us this week.”
Although the two teams will be competing against each other, Manning is also looking forward to seeing a familiar face on the Lions coaching staff. The head coach of Loyola Marymount, Michelle Myers, played on the women’s soccer team at Santa Clara when Manning was on the men’s team there. While Manning is getting his team ready to face Myer’s group, Flom is wanting to see their preparation pay off by pushing past the challenges they encountered in their past matchup between the Lions.
“I know that year we had blending issues,” Flom said. “Everyone has those days when going into overtime, it can be tiring and disappointing walking away in a tie. I think the team now that sets us a part from my freshman year is just our chemistry. It has grown over the years. I’d say we are a very possession-oriented team so as long as we keep the ball we will be fine.”
Along with keeping control of the ball, Flom said her team has been working on defending the opponent’s crossing and finishing. Going off of film, Flom said Utah saw how LMU attacks and where most of their scoring comes from so that it can be ready for what’s to come. In practice leading up to the game, the Utes have been working specifically on tracking the forwards runs and making sure they are communicating efficiently.
“It’s going to be a physical team that we play against,” Manning said. “So we have to match being physical, match their energy and then just play the good soccer we have been playing.”
Kickoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. MT.
@emileewhiteee