Holiday Check List

Are you getting tired of the holidays...?

Is the thrill of being away from work or school wearing off...?

Are you looking for things to do beside checking in to your favorite blog...?

The end of the year is a great time to make lists. Here is one that might inspire some things you can do in 2009 in regards to your soccer...

Here is our Top Ten List of Soccer Things to Do in 2009

1. Get in shape...conditioning, strength, balance, speed, flexibility are all things to improve upon.
2. Spend time with the soccer ball...touches and skills are critical.
3. Pick out a glaring weakness in your game and make it better.
4. Find more opportunities to play in pick up games...even organize them!
2 vs. 2, 3 vs. 3, anything...get some of your friends together and PLAY!
5. Get together some of your old soccer clothing, shoes and equipment and donate it to someone else...
DI store, Salvation Army, St. Vincent de Paul Society, your local school, if you're unsure send it to us here at the U. We'll send it along to a group that could use it...Send it to Utah Women's Soccer, 1825 East South Campus Dr. Front, Salt Lake City, UT 84112-0900

6. Teach, coach or mentor some local young players in the game...giving back will feel great.
7. Take a moment and write one of your former coaches or teammates and let them know how you are doing and what you learned from your experience with them. They will love to hear from you.
8. Watch a game live, on TV, on the web...you can always learn.
9. Say thanks to mom, dad or anyone else that supports (or supported) you in your soccer.
10. Resolve to get good grades, be a good teammate, play with character, take on some leadership, teams need complete players!

Keep dreaming big!

Merry Christmas to All!

All the finals are done and the papers have been turned in. The Utes are with their families for the holidays. Everyone is tucked into bed and waiting for Santa to arrive. We've had a couple of days of snow and it is a beautiful white Christmas here in Salt Lake City.

We want to wish you all a fantastic holiday at this special time of the year and let's make 2009 the best year yet! We'll be back at the blog soon to give you more insight into Ute soccer!

Finals Week is Here

The players are busy this week...not shopping...not playing...but studying and preparing papers.
Finals week is here...exams and projects are due. The hard work is eased by the "light at the end of the tunnel"....Christmas is right around the corner!

We'll have more thoughts on Utah Soccer Christmas plans.

But, we will tell you that the University of Utah is a sports school...and there is a LOT of great stuff going on right now...

Our football team got selected to go to the Sugar Bowl, where they will meet the University of Alabama on January 2nd. How cool is that?! The soccer team is making plans to go to New Orleans or set up a TV party. We'll definitely have more news about this great event!

Our men's and women's basketball teams are in full season mode...the men will be playing local rival Weber State at the beautiful Hunstman Center on campus here on Saturday at 4:00 PM local time...then they will travel the 2 hours north to face Utah State on Monday at 7:00 PM

The women go Ogden, Utah (about 40 minutes north of the U) to face Weber State on Friday at 6:3o PM, then turn around and host Mississippi State on Saturday at 6:30 PM.

Our players will be ready to support their fellow Utes!

The big soccer Christmas sale!

University of Utah soccer is having a Christmas sale to sell its remaining merchandise!

We have a limited number of items so please contact Jill at JGillman@huntsman.utah.edu for more information or if you'd like to place an order.

Gray Utah Soccer shirt: $10

Gray Utah Soccer Est. 1995 shirt: $10

White Utah Soccer shirt: $10

Cinch sack: $20

Utah Soccer lanyards: $2

Utah visors: $7

Black Under Armour hooded sweatshirt: $45

Another Big Soccer Week

Okay, fans of women's soccer, there are some tremendous games being played this week...Be sure to make some time and see some of the world's best female soccer players in action...

First, the U.S. under-20 National Team is in the semi-finals of the World Cup in Chile...they face Germany in a "clash of the titans"! (The other semi-final is Brazil vs. North Korea, another awesome battle).

Thursday
U.S. vs. Germany
Temuco, Chile
3 p.m. MT, ESPNU


Then, the NCAA College Cup takes place this weekend in North Carolina...and all four #1 seeds have made it to the semi-finals...It should be a dramatic weekend...Be sure to watch!

Friday
Stanford vs. Notre Dame
2:30 PM MT, ESPNU, ESPN360
UCLA vs. North Carolina
5:00 PM MT, ESPNU, ESPN360

Sunday
NCAA College Cup Final
12:00 PM MT, ESPN2, ESPN360

Utes Celebrating Big Football Victory

Last Saturday was an exciting day for the Utes. The Utah football team capped off an undefeated season by defeating rvial BYU, 48-24, in front of a packed house of 46,000 fans. With the victory, the Utes clinched the Mountain West Conference Championship and qualified for the "BCS" bowl series. They will be headed to Miami (Orange Bowl), New Orleans (Sugar Bowl) or Phoenix (Fiesta Bowl) come the New Year. Their destination will be announced on December 7.










Many of the Utah soccer players attended the game. When questioned, many even admitted to "storming" the field after the game to celebrate with the football team...attending the other sporting events and supporting their friends on the other teams is an important part of the experience for our soccer players. With so much excitement going on, it is bound to increase everyone's appetite....good thing Thanksgiving is here...lots of home cookin' this weekend. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Great Soccer Viewing for U.S. Fans this week

For those of you that love soccer...and especially soccer here in the good ol' U.S.A....this is a great week. First, we have the under-20 Women's World Cup starting in Chile tomorrow. Both the U.S. and the Canadian teams are made up of current and future college stars. Many of the players there have sacrificed being with their college teams during the NCAA playoffs in order to have a shot at the world title. The U.S. team's games will be shown at ESPN...tomorrow is on ESPN2. The others will be on ESPN360.com (an internet broadcast service). Here is the 1st round schedule.

Wednesday
U.S. vs. France
Estadio Nelson Oyarzun, Chillan, Chile
11 a.m. MT, ESPN2, ESPN360.com

Nov. 22
U.S. vs. Argentina
Estadio Nelson Oyarzun, Chillan, Chile
8 a.m. MT, ESPN360.com

Nov. 26
U.S. vs. China
Estadio German Becker, Temuco, Chile
12 p.m. MT, ESPN360.com

You can follow the tournament and see highlights of the matches at www.fifa.com!


Second....the U.S. men's national team has a 2010 World Cup qualifier on Wednesday night against Guatemala in Colorado. The U.S. has already advanced to the final round as it as won the 4-team group....However, Guatemala is in a dogfight with Trinidad & Tobago and must win to stay alive for the second place....Fans of the younger U.S. players, such as Freddy Adu and Jozy Altidore, will be able to see how they do in an intense environment.

U.S. vs. Guatemala
Wednesday
Dick's Sporting Goods Park; Commerce City, Colo.
8 p.m. ET, ESPN Classic


Third...yes, there is more....the MLS Cup will be held in Los Angeles this Sunday. The Columbus Crew will face the NY Red Bulls for the championship. Watch Argentinian superstar, Guillermo Barros-Schelotto, formerly of Boca Juniors try to lead Columbus to its first crown!

Sunday
New York vs. Columbus
Home Depot Center, Carson, Calif. 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC


Okay soccer fans...enjoy the feast!