Utes Win Two at BYU Invitational

It was a cold and wet day in Utah on Saturday, but it was shining brightly for the Utes. We played in in BYU Invitational down in Provo and came away with a 2-1 victory over Utah Valley and a 1-0 win over Dixie State.

Chelsea Forbes (pictured at left) had two assists in the opening match and Lauren Hair continued her torrid scoring streak, notching the game-winner in each match.


The morning match was played outside in a drizzle as the Utes faced the Wolverines from Utah Valley. We got off to a strong start and created several chances in the first half of the game. Anne Shallenberger hit the post on the 10th minute. Goal keeper Hannah Turpen saved a one on one in the 23rd minute. And Erin Dalley headed a Chelsea Forbes free kick just wide in the 26th minute.

The Wolverines broke through in the 33rd after Hannah had trouble hanging on to a UVU free kick and the rebound was knocked home. The Utes responded well and were unfortunate not to equalize before halftime. Just four minutes after the goal, Chelsea hit a laser free kick just over the bar from 25 yards out. And just before the break, Morgan Skeen hit a shot that was saved and Anne followed with a dangerous cross.

Down 1-0 at the half, Utah came out firing. Emalee Rogers (pictured at left), continuing her comeback from a broken leg suffered over Christmas, replaced Hannah in goal. After knocking at the door a few times, the Utes were rewarded in the 50th minute. Chelsea Forbes delivered a cross on a free kick from the right side. The ball skidded across the Wolverine goal and Katie Martinez headed it home for the 1-1 tie.

More chances followed...Erin Dalley rose above the crowd on a corner kick but headed wide in the 55th minute. And Anne Shallenberger's shot was saved in the 63rd. With just 5 minutes left, Chelsea Forbes made a weaving run on the right side and sent in a cross to the middle. Lauren Hair turned with the ball and toe-poked it home past the on-rushing 'keeper...a fantastic goal! The Utes held on for a 2-1 win.

The second game against Dixie State was moved indoors as the steady rain during the day had made the field too wet. Freshman goal keeper Shay Kennedy played the first half, while Hannah Turpen replaced her in the second. Utah used a Lauren Hair penalty kick in the second period to clinch a 1-0 win.

Utes Defeat Alums 3-2 in Final Spring Outing

The Utes took on the Utes today in an alumni game filled with good soccer and lots of fun. In a 70-minute match, the current team jumped out to a 3-0 lead before a late rally by the former Utes fell just short.

Utah scorers were Erin Dalley (6th minute), Kelly Isleib (20th minute PK), and Katie Brower (45th minute). The former Utes countered with goals from Erin (Pruitt) Kay and Amy (Kofoed) Stover.

More than twenty former Utah Soccer players came back to Ute field. Many joined in the action and some (due to pregnancies) came to watch.


Mondis (Ariazand) Neff
Lynnsey Asay-Kimball
Katie Battazzo
Amber (Brower) Mortenson
Staci (Burt) Delaney
Jacki (Doman) Cameron
Ali Cerruti
Missy Dennis
Sarah Englis
Shauna Gurr-Bingham
Becky (Moore) Hatch
Addie Hawkins
Courtney Hills-McBeth
Esther Imotan
Kari Keddington-Koon
Amy (Kofoed) Stover
Kim (Lloyd) Gunlock
Hailey Marsh
Ashley Mason
Tara McNeil
Erin (Pruitt) Kay
Tracy Stratton Garner
Melissa Wayman
Jen Williams
Carisse Winegar

Current Ute seniors Chelsea Card, Melissa Crespo, Kiley Jones and Paola Marsenaro also made their alumni debuts.
Thanks to everyone for coming out!
More to follow....

Utes Fall to UVU, Draw with BYU in Provo

Utah soccer continued its spring season Saturday with two outdoor matches held at BYU's campus in Provo. In morning action, the Utes dropped a 4-2 decision to Utah Valley. And, in the afternoon, the Utes played to a 1-1 tie against BYU.

Coach Rich Manning said that the matches are helping greatly in the development of this young team. "We have many new and inexperienced players. And some of our veterans are being asked to play new roles. We are definitely learning some valuable lessons in theses games. For sure, we must defend better as a team. And we also need to handle the big moments of the game better. In the Utah Valley game, we failed miserably in both of these departments. I was pleased that we were able to bounce back in those areas in the BYU game. Both of these team qualities that we want to have require leadership and mental toughness. And we must develop into a tougher team in order to have a successful season in the fall."

In the first game, the Utes started strongly and were rewarded when Katy Reineke and Kelly Isleib set up Erin Dalley in front of goal. Dalley calmly passed the ball into the net for a 1-0 Utah lead in the 7th minute. The Utes looked strong and dominant when the game changed. After a Utah corner in the 17th minute, the Wolverines countered quickly and played a through ball before the Utes could get back and the forward slotted the ball passed Utah goal keeper, Amy Edman for the 1-1 tie. UV took a 2-1 into the half-time break after another goal in the 26th minute.

The lead grew to 3-1 early in the second half with a shot from just outside the penalty area. And the outcome was sealed when a fourh was scored in the 60th minute. Utah kept battling and drew within two in the 74th minute. Kelly Isleib scored from just inside the box after a feed from Erin Dalley. The game ended at 4-2.

The second match against BYU got off to a thrilling start. Lauren Hair hit the post after a nice dribbling run along the left wing in the 7th minute. And Ute 'keeper, Emalee Rogers, was quick off her line to stuff a Cougar through pass just before it was reached by a BYU forward in the 10th minute.

Utah scored first in the 19th minute when Katy Reineke hit one of her now trademark free kicks into the corner of the net from 25 yards out. However, just one minute later, BYU defender Andrea Willis returned the favor when she bulged the net from 20 yards away after a Utah foul.

The game slowed into the second half as both teams tired a bit. Utah played a low pressure defense and prevented any easy chances. Rogers snatched a BYU cross in a crowded penalty area in the 65th minute. And Erin Dalley was stopped by the Cougar goal keeper after getting behind the defense in the 70th. The match ended in a draw.

Pepperdine 1 Utah 0

The Utah soccer team fell to the Pepperdine Waves, 1-0, in their final game at the Toyota College Classic Sunday in Temecula, California. Amanda Rupp scored the lone goal of the game fifteen minutes into the second half and the Waves were able to make it stand up.

The 70-minute game was played with a stiff breeze blowing. The Utes headed into the wind during the first half and had to defend a bit with the conditions. Goal keeper, Emalee Rogers, snuffed out a couple of through passes early and defender, Morgan Skeen, had to clear a loose ball in front of an open net in the 17th minute.

Utah found some rhythm in the latter stages of the half and were unfortunate not to take the lead in the final minute when midfielder Amanda Sanchez hit a beautifully floated through pass over the Pepperdine defense and onto the rushing Kelly Isleib. Isleib tried to chip the bouncing ball over the goal keeper, but her shot floated over the goal.

The Utes began the second half with some excellent attacking play. Forwards Erin Dalley and Lauren Hair hooked up a couple of times, only to see their combination passes go just out of reach. Dalley broke through in the 50th minute, but Waves goal keeper, Kayla Stolte, just beat her to the ball.

The Pepperdine goal came on a counter attack after some good Utah pressure. The Waves cleared a ball out to midfield and, after a scramble, midfielder Joanna Idom found Rupp behind the defense where she slotted it past Rogers. Utah had some pressure in the final minutes but could not find the equalizer. Amy Edman finished the final 20 minutes in the net, succeeding Rogers.

The Utes will be back in action this Saturday, April 12, when they travel to Provo to play in the BYU Outdoor Spring Invitational.
Utah will face Utah Valley at 11:00 A.M. , then finish with a game against BYU at 4:30 P.M.

Utah 3 UCSB 3

The Utah soccer team battled to a 3-3 tie against UC Santa Barbara this afternoon in a spring game held at the Toyota College Classic in Temecula, California. Lauren Hair scored twice and Kelly Isleib tallied once as the Utes clawed to three separate leads, only to have the Gauchos draw even on each occasion. The game marked the first action for the Utes since returning from their trip to Argentina and Uruguay two weeks ago.

Utah scored first in the 17th minute as some good defending by the forwards stripped the Gaucho defense of the ball and gave Hair a breakaway on the UCSB goal keeper, which the freshman forward slotted home for a 1-0 lead. UCSB tied the score just four minutes later from a corner kick.

Early in the second half, Hair struck again after a free kick from midfield. Christine Quinn hit a long ball into the Gaucho defensive third, where Kelly Isleib headed it on to a streaking Hair who slammed it into the Gaucho net for a 2-1 Ute lead. The Gauchos tied it up four minutes later when Utah goal keeper, Emalee Rogers, was ruled to have fouled a forward in the box for a penalty kick, which was put away to make it 2-2.

The Utes quickly regained a lead at 3-2 just three minutes later after some nice wing play by Hair set up Isleib in front of the net, where she tapped it in. However, UCSB would tie it up for good in the 66th minute and the Utes would have to settle for a draw.

The game marked the first action of the spring for two Utah freshmen defenders. Morgan Skeen, played the full game in her return after ACL reconstruction surgery in October. And Alyssa Toomey saw limited action after spending the last 3 months recovering from shoulder surgery.

"There are many things that we try to accomplish with the spring games and, overall, this was another important part of the process", said coach Rich Manning. "Players are being given opportunities to sharpen their game in a very competitive environment. We are improving tremendously in our ball movement and have been quite dangerous in front of the goal. We still need to improve defensively as a team and to understand the important moments. And we will continue to work on these things."

The Utes will continue action in the Toyota College Classic on Sunday, April 6 with a contest against the Pepperdine Waves. Kickoff will be at 9:45 A.M. Pacific Time. For more information about the event, go to www.collegeclassic.com and click on the California link.

Utes Head To California Next Weekend

We are back to training after taking a couple of days off. Everyone is a bit sluggish mentally and physically after the big trip. However, it's important to keep working to improve and we are grinding through it. We have 3 weeks left before breaking for the summer and some important tests coming up with our spring games.

Next up, we are heading to California on April 5 and 6 to play in the Toyota College Classic.
It is one of our favorite events. Many college teams play in this event as well as some good youth teams. We have two good games out there...

On Saturday, April 5, we will face UC Santa Barbara at 3:00 P.M.
Then, on Sunday, April 6, we play Pepperdine at 9:00 A.M.

Should be fun as well as another opportunity for our players to develop...

Well, You Gotta Start Somewhere

We got our spring season officially under way today with a home game against the Utah State Aggies. And on a sunny but cold day, we fell to our in-state rivals, 2-1. It was a close and hard-fought game. Both teams looked a bit rusty as it was the first time playing outside since the end of last season.

Utah State opened the scoring in the 24th minute as Jessica Williams pounced on a rebound after a long shot was tipped off the post by Ute goal keeper, Emalee Rogers.

We fought back and played our best stretch of the game over the next twenty minutes. And we were rewarded with a goal in the 42nd minute....Lauren Hair played a 1-2 on the right wing with Chelsea Card. Lauren proceeded to turn the corner and slot the ball across the face of the goal, where new Ute midfielder, Katie Brower, put it in the net. Katie is the sister of former Utah great Amber Brower. She transferred in from Utah State at semester.

The second half was a bit choppy as players from both teams seemed to tire and the field got a bit softer. The Aggies got the game-winner in the 65th minute when Syndey Porter hit a bullet from 35 yards that bulged the back of the net. After an Aggie corner kick was cleared out, Porter latched onto the ball and sent a rope into the net.

We tried to rally late, but were unable to crack the Aggie defense. The spring games are played with an emphasis on development and we got an opportunity to test ourselves against a good opponent. We will take the lessons from today's game and try to improve as we head into our big South America trip.

We have been working hard on our speed of play...trying to move the ball quickly and cleanly...and did not perform well in that area today...but we have some good information and, as always, will hit the training field hard next week. Overall, it was great to get out and compete.

Thanks to all the fans and friends that came out to the game today...
It was great to see you and hear the cheers again!

Finally, We Get to Play Some Games!

Well, after getting up early each morning to train, run, lift and get "encouraged" by coaches...we can get out and play a game against another team. This Friday, March 7 at 4:30 P.M. we will take on the Utah State Aggies in the first of our spring games. The game will be held at Ute Soccer Field. (If the field is too wet to play, the game will be at Rice-Eccles Stadium).

The NCAA allows teams to play 5 games each spring (our trip to Argentina won't count against our 5), so we cherish the chance to play another team. Having been inside thus far in our training, it will be an interesting adjustment to get out on real grass again. And Utah State always plays us very tough.

The spring is really a time for individual development. We've been working on our ball movement, play around the penalty box, and finishing. So, hopefully, we'll show good improvement in those areas.

Come on down to Ute Field and check it out! And, be sure to say hello after the game!