Let the fun begin.
Coming off their highest regular season finish since joining the Pac-12, the Utes are about to enter their first College Cup since 2006. Utah will be in College Station, Texas tonight for a first-round matchup against Texas A&M.
The Aggies were the SEC regular season and tournament champions and are making their 19th straight NCAA Tournament appearance under head coach G Guerrieri. They have made it out of the first round of the tournament every year since 1997.
“We feel like we know their team well,” says Utes’ head coach Rich Manning. “They have one of the best followings in college soccer, and for us, the BYU experience will be really beneficial.”
Friday’s game will be played at Ellis Stadium, which has an official capacity of 3,500. Attendance is regularly over that, though, and the stadium record for most fans at a game is 8,204.
Utah goalkeeper Lindsey Luke says the atmosphere at various Pac-12 venues as well as the one in Provo will help her team not be affected by the crowd. In fact, Ute players openly admit they are more excited than nervous to play in front of a large crowd.
“I love big crowds,” Luke says. “ It makes the game more fun.”
Utah has relied on its defense to get it to the tournament, and A&M has taken notice.
“They are very organized,” Guerrieri says. “Rich has done a great job of coaching them up and teaching them the way to play. We have great respect for the way they defend.”
The Aggies’ coach also expressed concern about how the Utes score.
“[Utah is] dangerous when they get in front of the goal. They are very opportunistic,” he says. “It will be a really tough game for us.”
The Utes have been in their fair share of close games. They have gone into overtime 10 times throughout the season, going 3-1-6. There will be no tie on Friday however, and in preparation for a potential shoot-out, Utah players took time after practice Wednesday to sharpen their penalty kicks.
With all their overtime contests, the Utes nearly played the equivalent of two extra games, but Manning is not worried about that affecting his players.
“If you are not energized to play in the tournament in that environment, you shouldn’t be playing college soccer,” he says. “You probably should retire. We will settle in after the first part of the game, and I am sure we will play well.”
Texas A&M is one of only four teams to have made the tournament every year since 1995, but even with the long run of success, the Aggies have not made a Final Four appearance. Guerrieri feels his team has the potential to make that run, but he is less than pleased with the draw it received.
“A lot of times, getting to the Final Four is dependent on your draw and the matchups and teams you have to play,” he says. “I consider our draw being very, very difficult.”
The Utes and Aggies are set to kick off at 6 p.m. Standard Time. 

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