Sunday’s 4-0 victory over Weber State kept the Utes undefeated at home. The victory also served as a reminder of how successful Utah has been when playing at their home field the last two seasons.
In 2011, the Utes finished with a record of 8-2-0 at Ute Field. In 2012, the team was 6-2-0 when playing at home. Through two seasons of Pac-12 play, Utah has won nine conference games. Only one of those wins came on the road.
Utah did not lose a player to graduation, so the same core is once again establishing home dominance this season. In three home games the Utes have outscored their opponents 12-4, leading to a 2-0-1 record.
“As a whole, our first weekend with a double game at our home field [was a success], our theme is to protect this house,” forward Ashton Hall said. “We always want to get wins, but as long as we just protect it.”
Utah will once again play two games at home this weekend. The Utes will host Utah State Friday night before welcoming Oklahoma in for a Sunday afternoon showdown with the Sooners.
Luke’s return
Goalkeeper Lindsey Luke is expected to be available for the Utes when they play Utah State on Friday. Luke has missed the last four matches as she recovers from illness. On Monday Luke posted on her Twitter account, “Feeling LIGHT YEARS Better. Happy to be back immersed in classes etc. can’t wait to get on that field.”
Luke started in goal for the Utes the first three games of the season. She did not allow a goal in those games, recording 14 saves on her way to three shutouts and a 1-0-2 record.
Backup keeper Cheyanne Mulcock has taken keeper duties in Luke’s absence and done well. Head coach Rich Manning said last week that he feels the team has outstanding keepers and told them at the beginning of the season that there will be competition.
Around the Pac-12
The Utes are less than two weeks away from their first conference match and their journey through one of the toughest conferences in the nation.
The Pac-12 currently has three schools ranked in the Top 15. Pre-season conference favorite, Stanford, is currently unbeaten at 5-0-1 and is ranked No. 2 in the nation. UCLA (6-1-0) is No. 4 and California (5-0-1) is No. 12.
Arizona State, Southern California, Washington State and Colorado also received votes in the most recent poll. In all, the Pac-12 has seven teams ranked in the Top 40.
“We still have one more weekend before conference to sort things out, and then we’ll be good,” Hall said.
Utah opens up conference play on September 27th against California, but the Utes are concentrating on the present.
“Conference play will come soon enough, and it will be awesome, fun and all of that, but we are just staying focused on each game,” forward Allie Wisner said.
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