The Utah soccer team’s 2015 season could be described as underwhelming. With a 7-10-3 record, the Utes finished in the bottom third of the Pac-12 standings and were unable to obtain a spot in the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row.
Though it was a season of ups and downs for the Utes, they also had many successes involving teamwork and overcoming adversity. Head coach Rich Manning agrees this team has been one of the most hardworking and closest sides he has coached in his time at the U.
“We had a theme for this year, and it was being united,” said Manning. “Throughout this season the team showed me each game that they were united and committed to our program. Without a doubt the team stuck together through thick and thin, and were full of overcoming adversity of proving other teams wrong.”
Utah’s 2015 campaign began with promises of success. The team wanted to forget last year’s woeful season, where it only earned one win in conference play. The Utes welcomed back their top players in Lindsey Luke and Megan Trabert, while also bringing in new faces full of potential, including Dutch midfielder Paola van der Veen.
The combination of old and fresh blood went well for the Utes at the beginning of the season — they went unbeaten in their first three matches, including a 4-1 win over Houston. Their winning streak was then put to rest by Cal State Fullerton and rival BYU. The Utes rebounded against San Diego but couldn’t reclaim their form from the beginning of the season as they headed into conference play. The team only won four more games before the season came to a close.
A lot of factors held the team back from claiming any more wins, scoring goals being one of them. Utah only managed to finish 17 goals in 2015, way below par to compete against top teams like Stanford, Cal and USC. But another issue that kept the Utes in the basement of the Pac-12 conference was their inability to adapt to changing formations and lineups due to injuries or sickness. Manning believes this to be a major case why his team couldn’t claim the points they deserved.
“We are very disappointed in the results,” said Manning. “We couldn’t get the whole group on the field at the same time and have the team at its best.”
The results weren’t there, but Manning’s words of being united echoed through the players’ ears throughout the season and served as motivation to put up a fight against each opponent. All of Utah’s losses or draws, with a few exceptions, were close, with usually one goal deciding the outcomes. It’s something the Utes can be proud of, including departing senior Luke, who felt her team competed their hardest every game day.
“We’re definitely close in every game,” said Luke. “We were a close group the whole season. It felt a lot closer than other years I’ve been with the team. We toughed it out each game and didn’t give up when we got knocked down. I felt that every single person on the team this year was on board with what we wanted to accomplish.”
With everything being hurled against them, the Utes managed to stick together through the tough times and played their best each game of the season. This produced achievements they can look back on as successes, including winning all their games on a weekend road trip for the first time in Utah’s history in the Pac-12 and handing Manning his historic 150th win on that trip as well. Manning noticed a lot of positives that can be used for future seasons.
“They stayed focused on their goal,” Manning said. “The trip to Oregon was a huge high for us, and the LA trip was a good indicator how good the team was working together in those close losses. The last three games at home was also huge seeing how hard the team worked towards getting a good result.”
With 2015 over, the Utes now look forward to the spring season to prep for the 2016 campaign. They will use this time to get healthy, improve the game of the younger players and recruit for future stars of the program. Even though Luke won’t be on the field come August 2016, she’s excited to see what’s next for Utah.
“Next year, there will be more solidarity with the team,” Luke said. “It will really help with the younger players to get to know the system we play. I know that we can compete against the best and will be looking forward to watching the team next year.”
2015 will be a season the Utes will not forget. It showed that being united can create big things on and off the field and will use their togetherness to set the standard for future teams of the program.
@chad_marquez