The University of Utah soccer team (6-3-3, 1-0-2 Pac-12) nabbed their first Pac-12 win of the season this weekend.

After opening Pac-12 play with a tie against Arizona State last weekend, the Utes tied vs Oregon State Thursday, 1-1 in 2OT. It was the third tie in their last four games. Senior Holly Daugirda was the lone Ute to score, assisted by freshman Courtney Talbot. Daugirda’s goal put the Utes up 1-0 in the 22nd minute, but they were unable to score the rest of regulation and through two overtimes.

That game put the Utes record at 5-3-3 and maintained their undefeated home record at 3-0-2.

The draw made the Utes feel the importance of getting their first Pac-12 win when they hosted Oregon on Sunday. 

“It’s huge,” Daugirda said after the draw Thursday night. “We’ve only had two games in the Pac-12. We had two ties, and they are points, but it’d be really good for us to get three points heading into the following weekend.”

Coach Rich Manning added, “We need wins. Not only for the conference standings, but just in general for our season.”

And win they did, defeating the Oregon Ducks 2-0 at home on Sunday. After a scoreless first half, senior Ireland Dunn kicked things off with a goal in the 63rd minute, assisted by senior Aleea Gwerder and freshman Kylee Geis. Sophomore Emali Mackinnon added to the lead in the 76th minute off an assist from Hailey Stodden. 

They dominated the whole game, stopping a late rally attempt by Oregon and blocking four of their shots on goal, along with five corner kicks. 

The Utes have not lost a game in the last month — their last loss was against BYU on Sept. 6th. At that time, the team had four wins and three losses. They look to keep that momentum going into next week for two tough matchups in Los Angeles vs. USC and UCLA. 

The Utes are gearing up to do some damage in the Pac-12. Being undefeated over seven games and earning a shutout against Oregon allows the Utes to feel confident going into next weekend. 

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