After this weekend, the clean slate will be covered in grass stains.
The women’s soccer team (5-6-1) opens conference play this Saturday at 8 p.m. when it travels down south to face rival BYU (8-2-1) in a game that is sure to be competitive and physical.
“BYU is a very athletic team, who over the last couple of years has had a defense that is very difficult to penetrate,” said head coach Rich Manning. “We have to keep those factors in mind when we play them. On our side, we have to go with the same principles we have all year, which are playing with confidence, keep the ball and take advantage of our opportunities.”
The Cougars have recorded three wins against National Soccer Coaches Association of America Top-25 competition, defeating Connecticut (20), West Virginia (14) in overtime and Oklahoma State (15) in double overtime. BYU’s two losses have both come to unranked competition, as it fell at home to William & Mary in double overtime and on the road at Washington State.
“I can’t wait to play BYU,” said freshman forward Hanna Terry. “One of the reasons I came to Utah was to play against them. They have a great team, but we do too, so it should be a battle.”
Freshman Carlee Payne has provided most of the BYU offense this year, scoring nine of the Cougars’ 16 goals. She now has 22 points on nine goals and four assists and has scored in seven straight games and in eight of BYU’s 11 contests. Only two other Cougars have scored multiple goals, with Kassidy Shumway and Jennie Marshall each netting two. Jessica Ringwood has also provided three assists, ranking second behind Payne.
Defending the goal for BYU has been sophomore McKinzie Olson. She has made 26 saves and allowed only eight goals for a 0.69 goals-against-average and .765 save percentage, while recording four shutouts.
“The BYU-Utah rivalry is one of the best in women’s college soccer,” Manning said. “It is always dramatic, it usually goes a long way toward deciding the conference race, and it is always played in a special environment.”
BYU is coached by Jennifer Rockwood, now in her 15th season at the helm. With a career record of 236-72-22 (.748), all at BYU, she was the only coach in the Mountain West Conference to rack up more than 100 career wins before being joined by Manning8212;in his eighth year8212;earlier this year.
The Cougars were the MWC regular-season champs. They also took the tournament title last year, beating the Utes 1-0 in the championship game.
“BYU is so talented and moves the ball beautifully,” said senior Kelly Isleib. “The key is to focus on our game plan and not get caught up in the hype.”
Utah trails in the all-time series with the Cougars, holding a 5-15-1 record. However, the Utes have found a good deal of success on BYU’s home field, posting a better record there than they have on their own pitch or on neutral fields, with a 3-4-1 mark. Manning has never lost to BYU in Provo, with a 3-0-1 record that includes the Utes’ first-ever NCAA Tournament win8212;a 3-2 overtime victory in 2002.
“I know that for the players on our team, it is generally one of the best memories they will take away from their college experience, getting to play in these types of games,” Manning said. “I certainly don’t have to motivate anyone to get ready to play this game. It will be more about competing with confidence and poise in the face of thousands of screaming people.”