The Utah soccer team will begin the U’s Homecoming party on Friday as it welcomes the Washington State Cougars. It will then play the Washington Huskies for its Power of Pink game on Sunday. Both matches provide opportunities for the Utes to add to their two-game winning streak and impress fans by defeating two top-25 ranked teams.
Head coach Rich Manning will have the opportunity to see old faces from previous Utah teams during the festivities and is also looking forward to this weekend’s slate of games.
“Homecoming is always fun to be around,” Manning said. “A lot of alumni are attending, and there will be a big crowd as well, so we are all excited to get on the field and continue the success we had in Oregon.”
The Utes have a lot of positivity and confidence resulting from their successful road trip last weekend in Oregon, but expect a lot of pressure from the Cougars and Huskies. Both are doing well in the Pac-12, having respectively earned second and third place in the standings, and they are both coming off wins.
The No. 17 ranked Cougars (9-2-0, 2-1-0) pulled off a surprising win last weekend upsetting, the 2014 NCAA champions UCLA 4-2. This was the first time in nearly 11 years the Cougars have defeated the Bruins, and they are hoping to use this performance to crash Utah’s Homecoming Friday.
On Sunday, Utah faces No. 19 Washington (9-2-1, 2-1-0), who is coming off a win against the other Los Angeles school, USC, shutting them out 1-0 in Seattle. They also defeated a young UCLA squad 1-0 last Friday at home. The Huskies are led by sophomore Shannon Simon, who is currently third in the Pac-12 golden boot race with six goals.
In order for these results to go Utah’s way, it needs to be prepared defensively and create as many chances as possible. This is especially true against the Cougars, who currently lead the Pac-12 in goal-scoring with an average of two per game, but they are also vulnerable in allowing the opposition to score. On average, they allow about one goal per game. The Utes also have to keep an eye on Washington, who is one place behind its in-state rival in goal-scoring.
Utah is aware of how well these teams play and is prepared to fight back with its improving defense and possession-dominating style of play. Sophomore forward Natalie Vukic, who is from the Washington area, agrees these tactics combined with the motivation from Oregon will help the Utes start their Homecoming weekend on the right foot.
“Having Homecoming here this weekend means we have to show everything we have as a team,” Vukic said. “We have to focus and continue to ride the high that we had from the Oregon games, and do our best to grab another two wins this weekend.”
Many players will also get their first taste of what Homecoming is like, including freshman Hailey Skolmoski. She is ready to help her teammates pull off another complete performance to beat these two teams.
“I’m excited,” said Skolmoski. “It will be fun. We need to do the same things we did against the Oregon teams — put away our chances and play the full 90 minutes to get the wins.”
Both games will be a challenge for the Utah team, who is considered the underdog. However, with the results from its weekend double-header against the Oregon schools, the Utes are ready to provide the upsets and catapult themselves to the top of the Pac-12 standings.
Utah’s Homecoming game against Washington State begins at 4 p.m., while Sunday’s Power of Pink match against Washington kicks off at 2 p.m.
@chad_marquez