The University of Utah women’s soccer team opened this week against Brigham Young University. Every Utah fan knows that this is a huge rivalry, and both teams were looking forward to walking away with a win. Unfortunately for both teams the game ended in a 0-0 tie on Sept. 9.

But, Utah fans cannot be too disappointed with the results, as BYU is ranked No. 22 in the nation. Although the team wasn’t able to get the win, it was a huge showing to be able to hold BYU scoreless in a game that went into double overtime.

Utah then was back at home again to face Dixie State. The two teams had only played once before, a 2-1 victory for Utah in double overtime back on Feb. 11. Utah wasn’t looking to go into overtime again, and they were able to get on the board early and take a 3-0 win.

Makayla Christensen got the first goal of the game, scoring in just the 12^th minute from an assist by Courtney Talbot. Utah was able to take seven shots in the first half, but they wouldn’t find the back of the net again until the 42^nd minute when Brooklyn James scored off of an assist by Erin Bridges.

Going into halftime up 2-0 allowed Utah to relax a little and completely take control of the game. They were able to completely dominate on defense, not allowing Dixie State to take a shot in the entire second half.

Talbot scored the third and final goal of the game for Utah in the 61^st minute. Talbot scored off of an assist by McKenna Baillie.

Utah showed that they are the real deal, especially on defense. After holding BYU scoreless, they only allowed Dixie State three shots, and only two shots on target. It has been a huge week for the defense, but the offense also showed their skill today.

The team took 21 shots today against the Trailblazers, with an astounding 12 of them being on target. Utah had a huge advantage in both shots and shots on goal. The team had as many goals as Dixie State’s total shots, making them a very difficult team to keep up with.

Utah controlled the corner kicks as well, taking four, as opposed to Dixie State’s one. The offense was firing on all cylinders, and the only surprise today is that more shots didn’t find the back of the net.

This week has been an indicator of how much potential this Utah team has as they are soon entering a full schedule of Pac-12 teams. Utah’s schedule continues to get tougher as they face teams such as No. 4 UCLA and No. 11 Stanford.

Utah State will be the third game in a row facing in-state opponents for Utah. Utah will play at Utah State on Sept. 16, their final game before facing Pac-12 opponents.

Utah will be on the road for the next two games before returning home on Sept. 30 to face Washington State.

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