Oct. 20, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

SALT LAKE CITY - The University of Utah women's soccer team (7-8-2, 3-2-0 MWC) returns to Ute Field this weekend for its final home appearances of the season. The Utes will first take on Seattle University (8-3-3) in a non-conference matchup Friday, at 7 p.m. The U. returns to Mountain West Conference action Sunday, Oct. 26 at 1 p.m., taking on Wyoming (8-8-1, 2-3-0 MWC) on Senior Day. That game will be broadcast live on the mtn.

Utah is coming off of a split weekend on the road, earning a 1-0 shutout at New Mexico Thursday, followed by a 2-0 loss at TCU Saturday. The Utes are currently tied for second place in the conference standings with UNLV and TCU, all holding nine points. Wyoming currently sits sixth in the table with six points, trying to hang on to the final spot in the MWC Tournament.

The Utes have defended their home surface well as of late, going 4-1-1 in their last six games at Ute Field, including two consecutive MWC victories. In those wins, the Utah offense came alive to score seven combined goals, netting four against San Diego State and three against UNLV. The defense has proven stingy at home as well, giving up just two goals in the last two games and recording shutouts against Utah State and Long Beach State. The lone exception was a 5-0 loss to BYU in the MWC-opener.

Friday's meeting against Seattle will mark the first time the two schools have met on a soccer field. Seattle is undergoing the process of reclassifying to NCAA Div. I.

Historically, the Utes have had fantastic success against the Cowgirls of Wyoming, going 15-1-0 all-time against them. The only hiccup was a 4-1 loss in Laramie in 2007, but was quickly redeemed with a 2-0 shutout victory four days later at the MWC Tournament in Provo, Utah. The Utes are 6-0 all-time against Wyoming at home, and have held Wyoming scoreless in seven of their last eight meetings, outscoring the Cowgirls 12-0 in those contests.

Scouting The Seattle Redhawks...

Seattle University comes to Salt Lake City this weekend for the first-ever matchup between the Utes and Redhawks. SU enters the game following a 3-2 victory at North Dakota State and a 1-0 loss at South Dakota State last weekend.

The Redhawks have put up solid numbers en route to an 8-3-3 record against an NCAA Div. I schedule. The former Div. II standouts are led by top scorer Jamie Coe's seven goals for 14 points. Kassandra Riozzi has also netted four goals while assisting on three for 11 points and Kara Kuttler has tallied three goals and three assists for nine points. Four other Redhawks have also found the back of the net at least once. Seattle is outshooting its opponents 191-131 overall, with shots on goal going 96-55 in its favor.

Defensively, Madison Goverde has played all 1,320 minutes in the net for SU and has managed a 0.89 goals against average through 14 games. She has allowed only 13 goals and made 41 saves, tallying a .759 save percentage and keeping four clean sheets.

Julie Woodward is amid her 12th year as the head coach at Seattle and is well on her way to a 12th consecutive winning season. Her career record at SU is now 171-55-22 (.734).

Scouting The Wyoming Cowgirls...

Wyoming enters this weekend's matches with six conference points, desperate to stay in the top six in the league and earn an MWC Tournament spot. After winning their first two conference games, the Cowgirls are on a three-game skid that includes 3-1 and 4-0 losses on the road last week.

Offensively, Wyoming has received contributions from 12 different players but is led by Amanda Lathrop's 24 points on eight goals and eight assists. Right behind her is Emily Layton, notching six goals and three assists of her own, for a 15-point total. Seven other players have scored at least once, while an additional three have registered at least one assist.

Defensively, Wyoming looks primarily to Jamie Scarcliff between the pipes. She maintains a 1.07 goals against average and a .731 save percentage, making 49 stops and allowing 18 goals. She has recorded seven shutouts on the year, which shares the league lead.

The Cowgirls are trained by first-year head coach Danny Sanchez.

Conference Roundup...

Week three of the Mountain West Conference schedule saw the Utes split a pair of road contests, winning 1-0 at New Mexico and falling 2-0 at TCU. Meanwhile, BYU held its place at the top of the standings with a 5-0 MWC record as Air Force remained winless in the conference. Everything in between is a log-jam of teams trying to separate from the pack as the conference tournament approaches. Utah is tied for second place with TCU and UNLV with nine points, while New Mexico, Wyoming and San Diego State all sit tied for third with six points.


From The Mind Of Manning...

Quotes from Utah head coach Rich Manning regarding his squad, this week's opponents and other items of note:

On returning home to face Seattle and Wyoming: "Seattle is playing its first year as a Division I school and has had a fantastic opening season. Julie Woodward is a terrific coach. Her team will be well organized, cohesive and motivated to play. Wyoming has had some good results this season as well. They are right behind us in the standings, so this game will be critical in deciding where each team starts in the conference tournament. I think both games will be competitive and see good, quality soccer being played."

On last weekend's road trip: "It is important to learn as a team that if things aren't going your way - an opponent is playing well, you are having a bad day, the ref makes a call that goes against you - you have to hang in there and still be able to make a play. In a lot of respects, neither game last weekend was very comfortable for us. But we were able to win one and we hung in and battled in the other one, which were both positive signs. We didn't play our best soccer and we were fighting adverse conditions on the road, but we hung in there."

On the team's confidence and mentality: "I feel pretty good about the way we are developing the mentality we need to be successful going forward. That will be important as we draw closer to our last conference game of the year and the beginning of the conference tournament."


Porter Heads In Second Game-Winner...

Freshman defender Lauren Porter (Salt Lake City) came through again on the offensive end for the Utes, scoring her third goal from a header and lifting the Utes to a 1-0 shutout win on the road at New Mexico. All three of Porter's headball goals have come from services provided by senior forward Katy Reineke. This time it was from a set piece approximately 35 yards out, while the previous two were from corner attempts.

Porter has scored two game-winners on the year, second on the team behind junior midfielder Kelly Isleib's four. Her previous game-winning goal was also the first goal of her career as she game the Utes a 1-0 home win against Long Beach State in September.

Porter's previous goal was the equalizer against UNLV after the Utes had fallen behind, 1-0. Defensively, Porter continued to be a monster in the air, clearing out several opponent corner kicks and long balls.

Reineke Continues Top-Notch Service...

Senior forward Katy Reineke (Salt Lake City) has given the Utes great services all year long, taking responsibility for all corner kicks and many set pieces when she is on the field. She recorded her fourth assist of the season Thursday as her 35-yard set piece was headed home by freshman defender Lauren Porter. The assist was Reineke's second game-winning assist of the season, which leads the team.

Reineke has lifted her play since the beginning of the conference slate. After not scoring in the run of play through 13 games, Reineke found the back of the net twice against San Diego State, scoring the first and third goals in a 4-1 win against the Aztecs. She then struck a perfect corner kick which found the head of Porter and pulled the Utes back to a 1-1 tie with UNLV. Utah would go on to win, 3-1. Reineke was a missed penalty kick away from recording a hat-trick.

Turpen Keeps First Career Clean Sheet...

Freshman goalkeeper Hannah Turpen (San Clemente, Calif.) has gotten the start and played all 90 minutes of the last two games. In Utah's 1-0 win on the road at New Mexico Friday, Turpen recorded her first career shutout, saving both of the Lobo's attempts at goal.

Turpen holds a record of 3-1 in net, as she was also credited with victories against San Diego State and UNLV. Against SDSU she entered the game with the score tied and was on the field when the game-winner was scored. Against the Rebels, she came on for the second half facing a 1-0 deficit and got the win as the Utes put up three second-half goals to take a 3-1 result.

Isleib Remains At Top Of MWC Assist List...

Junior midfielder Kelly Isleib (Park City, Utah) put up solid numbers during the Utes' non-conference schedule, but has been one of the top players in the league statistically since the beginning of conference play. Her four assists on the season have all come against Mountain West Conference opposition and ranks her No. 1 in the league for assists in conference games. She also added the game-winning goal against SDSU.

Last week's MWC Offensive Player of the week, Isleib earned the award following a stellar weekend in which she led the Utes to a pair of conference victories with two breakout offensive performances. In last Thursday's 4-1 victory against San Diego State, Isleib scored the game-winning goal as she put back her own rebound off of a penalty kick and assisted on three other Utah goals. With that performance, she became the first Ute since Staci Burt in 1999 to record three assists in an MWC game and the first Utah player to rack up five points in a conference contest since Lauren Field in 2003.

Isleib followed up that effort in tough conditions Saturday as she posted the game-winning assist against defending MWC champion UNLV. Her perfectly weighted pass into the box allowed sophomore forward Lauren Hair (Alpine, Utah) to easily put away the game-winning goal.

Isleib is just two helpers shy of tying the Utah career assist record of 22 held by Amanda Feigt (2003-06).