With the 2009 soccer season already under way, Utah’s players and coaches are confident they will compete for the Mountain West Conference title later this fall. It turns out the rest of the conference thinks so, too.
The team has been selected to finish second in the MWC Preseason Coaches Poll. The Utes tied with TCU with 39 points in the poll.
“We have all the pieces to have a great team and we are very fired up for the conference season this year,” said head coach Rich Manning.
Utah is predicted to finish behind rival BYU, which received 49 points and seven of the eight first-place votes to capture the top spot. TCU received the other first-place vote in the poll.
“We want to win championships here and in order to do that, we will have to beat the best,” Manning said.
Utah finished the 2008 season as the conference runner-up in both the regular season and the tournament championship to BYU. The Utes compiled an 11-9-2 record, including a 5-2 effort in league play, with the losses coming to TCU and BYU.
“Last year there were a lot of young teams that had several starters who were freshmen and sophomores,” Manning said. “That bodes well for the conference this year because there will be a lot of tough competition with seasoned returning players. I think all of the MWC teams are going to do some damage in their nonconference schedules, then when we begin league play, it will be game on. I think all of the conference games will be tight and well-contested.”
San Diego State and UNLV were predicted to finish No. 4 and No. 5 with 30 and 28 points, respectively. New Mexico was ranked No. 6 (18 points), and Wyoming (14 points) and Air Force (7 points) rounded out the conference.
Utah opened the 2009 campaign at home Friday against Utah Valley University when it shut out the Wolverines 6-0.
Once the conference slate begins, the Utes will play their first three MWC games on the road, beginning Oct. 3, at BYU. Utah will continue conference play throughout October before competing for the conference title Nov. 4 through Nov. 7 at BYU.
“I expect us to have a strong year,” said junior Lauren Hair. “We have a tough preseason schedule and that will help us to play well when conference games come around.”
This year’s team will have a mix of veteran leadership and youth. With their speed on the wings and athleticism on defense, the team hopes to have all the tools to win the conference.
“I want this team to play together, be difficult to score on and play with confidence and aggressiveness on the attack,” Manning said. “If we can do those three things consistently, then I feel we will have a very successful season.”