September hasn’t been an ideal month for Utah soccer. With only one win in its previous five games, the Utes now face No. 8 Stanford in their PAC-12 opener. Although the Utes aren’t finishing non-conference play the way they intended, there are plenty of positives to take from the past couple of games.
One bright side, several players are finally hitting their stride, including freshman Hailey Skolmoski. Skolmoski has started every game on defense so far this season, but on Sunday she showed her striking abilities by scoring her first goal and helped the Utes tie with Loyola Marymount.
“I can’t even describe it [the goal],” said Skolmoski. “It just felt good to put my team on the board and tie it up so we had a chance to win, and I just worked really hard for it.”
With her first goal out of the way, the freshman defender is looking to help the Utes accomplish a towering task against the Cardinal on Friday.
“We’re going to have to work as a team,” Skolmoski said. “We’re going to have to work the whole 90 minutes, and it will come down to who wants it more.”
Skolmoski is always up for a challenge, however, something that helped further her career even when she was growing up. She attended Riverton High School, which does not exactly have the best soccer program in Utah, and constantly had to face other powerhouses in her region, like Alta and Davis.
“Growing up, I’ve always been on the underdog team,” Skolmoski said. “My team just learned to work hard and push each other and play to the highest level that we can against those top teams.”
But with everything going against her, she not only succeeded at Riverton by helping them make the playoffs every year she was there, she became a soccer sensation. While in high school, Skolmoski earned First Team All-State for two straight years. Later, she won another award in 2014, one reserved for the best and brightest student-athletes, the Utah Gatorade Player of the Year.
“It was an amazing feeling because I’ve worked so hard earning it,” Skolmoski said. “It wasn’t only me, though. My teammates and coaches helped me get there. It was a long road to get to that point, but it felt really good to get that kind of recognition.”
Utah head coach Rich Manning said that while her résumé is filled with tremendous achievements, those awards were not the sole reason he was interested in Skolmoski.
“It’s the quality she brings to the team,” Manning said. “She’s a really hard worker and all about the team. She’s very versatile, an extreme competitor and, in my mind, a winner. Those things she brings is what I’m excited about every day.”
This award, combined with her attitude, work ethic and success with the U.S. Soccer Olympic Development Program, grabbed the attention of many universities around the country, including other Pac-12 schools, such as Oregon and Washington State. But even though she had her fair share of picks, she chose to stay close to home and committed to the U her sophomore year of high school.
“I went on a few visits at other campuses, and I felt like I would have been well-taken care of,” Skolmoski said. “But I didn’t have the feeling like I did here. The U felt like home. I felt like I would not only excel as an athlete but as a student to help my future career.”
Now with the Stanford match looming, Skolmoski is ready to help the Utes with their biggest challenge yet and hopes to open Pac-12 play on a high note.
@chad_marquez