Five games into the 2014 campaign, the Utes have yet to feel the sting of defeat. However, their 4-0-1 start hasn’t come without some bangs and bruises.
In the first few games of the short season, Utah has already sustained a few injuries to key players. This has caused head coach Rich Manning to look to his bench and try to fill the open spots in the line-up.
In the Utes’ first home game of the season against Boise State, two of Utah’s starters went down with knee injuries. Senior Ashton Hall and sophomore Katie Rigby both had to be carried off the field.
Manning decided to go with junior Baylee Nielsen to replace Hall and sophomore Mikayla Elmer in place of Rigby. Nielsen took her opportunity by starting at forward in the game against Cal State Northridge and netted a goal in the contest, while Elmer showed a strong presence with her first start in the midfield. Both new starters helped the Utes come away with a victory.
Rigby returned to her starting position this past Friday against BYU, but she still split time with Elmer at the position. Hall has yet to return from her injury, and the team has felt her absence. The Utes planned to rely on Hall’s ability to create scoring chances to help jumpstart their offense. With her sidelined, Utah has struggled at times to create those chances, and a timetable for Hall’s return is still not known.
“We know it’s a knee injury, and we’ll see,” Manning said.
Slow Starts
Although Utah has won all of its home games this season, a recurring theme has been its slow starts to contests. The Utes have been on their heels and defending a lot in the first 15 minutes of play.
“You have to credit the other team,” Manning said. “There is a spell in the first half and a spell in the second half where we get a little jumbled. That’s on me for changing too many people at the same time.”
Due to those “spells,” junior keeper Lindsey Luke has had to come up big with some strong saves. Luke has 16 saves on the season with three shutouts. She has been strong, but her team needs to lessen the number of shots taken on Luke.
Unbeaten at Home
The Utes currently have an impressive unbeaten 15-game streak at home. The streak began back in the 2012 season when Utah defeated Oregon. During those 15 games the Utes have put in 30 goals while only allowing nine. Since joining the Pac-12, the Utes have a home record of 12-3-2 in conference games.
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