Utah Falls to Pepperdine...Now Focusing on Conference Play

In a close 1-0 contest, the Utes fell to a good Pepperdine team this afternoon. The Utes are experiencing some tough challenges as they have dropped several close matches in the last few weeks after a near perfect beginning. However, the team is ready to keep tweaking their formation, practices, and game plan and move forward into a brand new season of conference play.

In addition to the game taking place today, the teams, fans, and school helped to promote cancer awareness by having a "pink game"...anyone who wore pink received free admission and the halftime show consisted of some awareness trivia. Thanks to all of our great fans who helped build a great atmosphere for this Sunday game!

The Utes will have a day off tomorrow then go hard the rest of the week in order to prepare for their first conference match next Saturday against the biggest rival...BYU. The game always promises to be intensely fought and undoubtedly exciting. Stay tuned to the blog and the official website this week for more inside updates and details on the game.

See the video below to hear what coach Rich Manning has to say about the upcoming week and how the team will overcome their current challenges.

p.s. Congrats to Utah Volleyball for defeating BYU Friday night and also to Football for taking down Louisville! GO UTES!

Utes Lose Heartbreaker in OT

The weather was beautiful and the setting couldn't have been better...but the Utes' night did not end favorably. The in-state rivalry is always a tough one and with an overtime goal the Aggies came out on top this evening. Freshman Zoe Van Gorder tallied her second goal of the season by heading in a great corner kick played by Chelsea Forbes. Goal Keeper Emalee Rogers also had a solid game in the goal, making a very impressive save in the first half. For more notes on the game as well as the box score, visit our official website.

The Utes will bounce back against Pepperdine this Sunday at Ute Field at 1pm. Don't forget....it's the "Pink Game" which means everyone who wears pink gets in for free! Pink Games are a way of recognizing and promoting cancer awareness, so come out and support!

In other Utah sports news, Utah Volleyball takes on BYU at home (Crimson Court) tomorrow night at 7pm. Come support the team as they look to win the first Deseret Duel of the year! Saturday night the Utah Football Team will be hosting Louisville at Rice Eccles Stadium...looking to recover from a disappointing loss to Oregon last week. GO UTES!

We Have a Winner!

Congratulations to Nick Collins for winning our ticket giveaway! He and three guests will be attending the game tonight...on us! Thank you to all who participated...there will be more giveaways in the near future so be sure to keep in touch through the blog, facebook, twitter, and our official website. Thanks again to everyone who entered the contest....we hope to see you all at the game tonight and in the future!

Don't forget, kickoff is tonight at 7pm at Rio Tinto Stadium.....see you there!

Win Free Admission to Utah Soccer at Rio Tinto Stadium!

The University of Utah soccer team is giving you a chance to win free admission for four people see the Utes battle Utah State Thursday night at Rio Tinto Stadium. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. MT. Check out the Utes at one of the premier soccer facilities in the country!

To enter the drawing, simply send an email to utahsoccer09@gmail.com with your name and contact telephone number, and you will be registered to win. One winner will be selected at random and will receive free admittance to the event for four people.

Please note: By entering the contest, you are acknowledging that you would like to receive periodic email updates from Head Coach Rich Manning about the Utah Soccer Team. Those people already receiving Utah Soccer updates are eligible for the contest but must enter by sending the email to utahsoccer09@gmail.com.

For the match preview as well as this week's game notes, please click here.

Weekly Update

The weekend proved to be a tough one, full of a lot of lessons...but the season is still young and the team is continuing to improve, develop, and grow as a group. Coaches and players alike were satisfied with many aspects of play over the weekend and everyone took away a list of improvements, both individual and team, as well.

Today and tomorrow the Utes will hit the field in important preparation for a Thursday night match vs. Utah State at Rio Tinto Stadium. The game is going to be very exciting! Neutral location, awesome field, two motivated teams, and an in-state rivalry! More details on the game to follow tomorrow and thursday!

The Utes' second match of the week is a great one as well...the team will host Pepperdine at Ute Field Sunday afternoon and to add to the excitement of a great game, it is also "Pink on the Pitch Day"....it is the first of the ongoing games at the University of Utah this year to promote cancer awareness. Fans dressed in pink will get into the game for free as well as receive a pink ribbon pop-up hat!

Utes Have Tough Weekend on the Road

Utah soccer, now 5-4-1 on the season encountered some tough competition at the UCLA tournament this weekend. The Utes fell to No.4 UCLA on friday night although Coach Manning was proud of the team's performance. This afternoon the team played to a tie against LMU; the Utes were up 2-1 but with just 7 minutes left in the game LMU tied the game and sent it into overtime. Neither team could find the back of the net in two overtime periods and the game ended in a draw. Manning comments, "...I think we did some nice things overall this weekend. We certainly got a lot of feedback on areas we need to work on if we are going to become the team we want to be."

Ute scorers of the weekend included Junior Forward Lauren Hair against UCLA (her second of the season). Today against LMU freshman Hanna Terry scored the first goal of the game for the Utes (her third of the season) and Kelly Isleib tallied her fourth goal of the year on a direct free kick later in the game (Isleib leads the team with 4 goals so far!). Check out our official website for more notes on the game as well as the box score.

The team will have a quick turn around again with an exciting in-state rivalry game against Utah State scheduled for Thursday night at Rio Tinto Stadium (the local MLS stadium!). Stay tuned for inside information about the game!

Utah Dorm Life

See what it's like in the typical dorm of Utah Soccer players! Freshman Zoe Van Gorder shows us around their 'crib'....