Courtesy of Utah State Athletics

PHOENIX, Arizona – No. 7 Utah State soccer (9-0-1, 0-0-0 MW) closed out non-conference play with a win to remain unbeaten, using a trio of first half goals and a strong defensive second half in a 3-1 win over Grand Canyon at GCU Stadium in Phoenix.

After the first three shots of the match were taken by the Lopes, USU jumped out to an early advantage with a pair of goals just 61 seconds apart. First, it was graduate defender Kylie Olsen in the 14th minute firing a laser into the top corner of the net from just outside the 18-yard box off of a corner by sophomore midfielder Summer Diamond. Then, it was junior forward Tess Werts taking advantage of a misplayed ball by GCU inside of the box as the stole a pass to the keeper and tapped it in to make it 2-0.

MATCH NOTES

  • With the win, Utah State concludes the non-conference portion of its schedule with a 9-0-1 record, having out-scored opponents by a combined 32-7.
  • Utah State has now scored multiple goals in nine of its 10 games this season.
  • Utah State improves to 4-0 against teams from the 2023 NCAA Tournament, earning wins over Pepperdine, Texas Tech, BYU and now Grand Canyon. The Aggies out-scored those teams by a combined 11-2.
  • With the win, Utah State extends its unbeaten streak to 10, the second-longest streak in program history behind only a streak of 11 lossless matches in 2012.
  • Entering the match, Grand Canyon ranked No. 22 in the nation in goals allowed average at 0.50, allowing just five total goals in 10 matches.
  • While at full strength, Utah State held a 10-8 shots advantage. Following the Butters red card, GCU took nine shots to just one for the Aggies, but only three of those were on frame.
  • 11 different Utah State players recorded shots, with none recording more than one.
  • Alysia Butters’ red card was the first by an Aggie player during head coach Manny Martins‘ tenure. The last red by a USU player was on March 27, 2021, against New Mexico.
  • Kylie Olsen’s goal was her third of the season and the fifth of her career.
  • Tess Werts’ goal was her team-best fifth goal of the season and the ninth of her career.
  • Mia Mullenmeister’s goal was her second of the season and of her career.
  • Cora Brendle played all 90 minutes in goal, registering a season-high five saves.
  • This was the first-ever meeting between Utah State and Grand Canyon.
  • With the win, Utah State improves to 10-2-1 all-time against WAC opponents.

UP NEXT
Utah State (9-0-1, 0-0-0 MW) begins Mountain West play with a pair of matches on the road next week. First, the Aggies will face San José State on Thursday, Sept. 26, at 7:30 p.m. (MT). Then, USU travels to Fresno to take on Fresno State on Sunday, Sept. 19, at 1 p.m. (MT).