After finishing preseason play with a 1-0 victory over UC Irvine, the Utah soccer team will head to Seattle to compete against Washington (Sept. 23) in its first Pac-12 game of the season.
“[Washington] is a good team,” said head coach Rich Manning. “We know what is on the schedule [in the future, but] we are just going to prepare for Washington now. That’s our mindset.”
In the last two years, the Utes opened Pac-12 play against Stanford, tying one game and losing another. With that in mind, it hasn’t discouraged senior Katie Rogers from keeping a positive attitude and high energy.
“[The team] is excited,” Roger said. “We are ready to go, and I think especially on the road, it is just going to be another test for us to bring that home atmosphere when we are away in Seattle. We are all pumped, and I think it is going to be a good game. We are ready for it.”
This year will be a change in pace for the Utes as they open up Pac-12 against Washington rather than the Cardinals. But for Rogers, it doesn’t phase her. She said that in Pac-12 play, anybody can come out on top any given day and anybody can be the best in the Pac-12.
“It doesn’t really matter the team we are playing or the name they have on their shirt,” Rogers said. “It really just comes down to what we bring to the table and what are our team brings to play that day. That’s the real factor that comes into whoever we play against.”
Utah hasn’t played too well against Washington in recent years. The Utes have not won a game against the Huskies since 2012. Manning said that what happened last year and the years before, even the week before, doesn’t matter.
“Every week in Pac-12 you have just got to treat [each team] the same,” Manning said. “It is a good game against a good opponent, and we are going to prepare the best way we can. All the games are tight, so all of our focus is on Washington on Friday and getting ourselves ready for that.”
For Rogers, she feels that in order to beat Washington this year, she and her team will have to learn from the past, adding that it is just one of those things where the team has to take the next step to fight harder and be willing to work with each other.
“We may not have had the best of games, but we have fought to keep the ball out of the net,” Rogers said. “It comes down to that heart, grit and determination — that attitude right there will help us win the game and at least keep the ball out of the net.”
Friday’s game between Utah and Washington is set to begin at 8:00 p.m.
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