KICK OFF
• Utah Tech enters the WAC tournament in Seattle, Wash. as the four seed. They will begin the tournament taking on five seed Grand Canyon Wednesday night at 8 PM (MT). The winner of the game will advance to the semi-final round against one seed Utah Valley. This is the first time Utah Tech has participated in a Division I conference championship.
• Streaming for the whole WAC tournament can be found on ESPN+
• Live Stats for Trailblazer matches can be found at UtahTechTrailblazers.com

UTAH TECH 2022 SEASON QUICK STATS:
• Utah Tech has 20 goals on the season from 176 shots with 89 shots on frame.
• Utah Tech averages 10.4 shots per game and has a total of 20 assists.
• The Trailblazers have 79 saves on the season and have allowed just eight goals.
• Utah Tech finished their season by taking an important point in a road game with Seattle U and then dropping their final game to Utah Valley last week
• Utah Tech finished the regular season with a 10-5-2 overall record and a 6-3-2 record in WAC action and finished at No. 4 in the WAC standings.


REGULAR SEASON WRAP:
Utah Tech recorded seven consecutive shutouts this season including six wins and one tie. After falling to North Dakota State on August 29, the Traiblazers didn't lose a game for six weeks. First, UT picked up a 1-0 win over St. Thomas before defeating South Dakota with a big 5-0 win. Then, UT defeated Idaho State 1-0 and in-state rival Weber State 1-0. The Trailblazers started WAC play with two victories, first over Stephen F. Austin with a 2-0 score and then UTRGV 1-0. Against Tarleton State, UT came away with a 0-0 tie before downing Abilene Christian 2-0 to finish off an un defeated month of September. They started off October with a 1-0 win over Sam Houston and a 3-1 win over New Mexico State. The Trailblazers finished off a game with Southern Utah and recorded a 1-0 win. The unbeaten streak came to an end with back to back 1-0 losses at home first to Grand Canyon and then to CBU. The regular season ended with a 1-1 draw at Seattle U and a 2-0 loss at Utah Valley

Kayla Thompson was in the net for each of the seven straight shutouts earning seven clean sheets.

In total Utah Tech had 718 minutes without allowing a goal.

NYLAND WAC OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Karli Nyland earned WAC Player of the Week honors for her performance against Stephen F. Austin and and UTRGV.  She scored two goals placing her first one in the net in the 13th minute off a set piece. Just two minutes later, Utah Tech drew another corner where Nyland executed another shot for UT's second goal. In total over the weekend, Nyland ended with two goals, three shots with all three shots on frame.
She currently leads the Trailblazers in most goals scored with four on the season and total shots with 19 and shots on goal with 11.

THOMPSON'S LOCKDOWN:
Goalkeeper, Kayla Thompson sits in the top 10 in several career categories at Utah Tech. She sits at No. 5 in total minutes with 2,640. She is at No. 1 in total saves with 167. Thompson claimed the top spot against Abilene Christian where she posted, three saves. She also took over the top spot in shutouts with her 11 and counting.

Thompson currently leads the WAC lead with 9 shutouts and is No. 4 in the WAC in total saves with her 60 so far on the season.

Thompson currently has the school record for seven consecutive shutouts and the most consecutive shutout minutes in school history with 718.


POSTSEASON TOURNAMENT ELIGIBILITY: As of Summer 2022 the WAC Board of Directors voted as of the 2022-23 season to allow newcomers to the WAC, Tarleton State and Utah Tech, to compete for all conference tournaments. Utah Tech University is in it's third year of a four year transitionary period into Division I and the Western Athletic Conference.

FIRST GOAL: Utah Tech senior Lauren Buxton notched the team's first goal of the year in the season opener against Colorado State on August 18. Buxtons goal was her third of her career.

MOST RECENT GOAL:  Against Seattle U, Karli Nyland put home her team leading fifth goal of the season. The 56th minute goal brought the match even at 1-1, the eventual final score giving the Trailblazers an important point on the road. Nyland finished from close range after receiving a beautifal ball into the box from Karli Nyland.

ONE . .  TWO. . . THREE . . . FOUR. . . FIVE! :  Against South Dakota, Utah Tech notched five goals in one game. This was the first time since 2019 that the Trailblazers scored five or more goals in a single game. It's also the most goals scored in a game this season.

2022 ROSTER BREAKDOWN: The Trailblazers return 15 players from the 2021 team this season, welcome in 14 freshmen and six transfers. Among the returners are the teams 2021 leader in saves, senior goalkeeper Kayla Thompson, captain Lauren Buxton and 2021 team leading goalscorer Kalea Woodyatt. Also returning are McKinley Barney, Shaylynn Uyeshiro and Emily Garbett who each logged over 1,000 minutes of play last season.

KNOW YOUR FOE GRAND CANYON:
The Lopes finished the regular season 10-6-2 overall record and 6-4-2 in WAC play. GCU is coming off a 6-0 home win over Sam Houston in thier regular season final. GCU has 37 total goals on the season and has recorded 352 shots with 139 on frame. The Lopes have 35 assists and 52 saves on the season so far.

Gianna Gourley leads Grand Canyon in goals with 17. Gourley also leads the team with 39 shots 36 of them on frame. Shantel Hatton leads GCU in the net with 25 saves in 608 minutes over 10 games played, all of which she started. She has split time in goal with Jordan Ferguson who leads the team in goalkeeper minutes at 979 across 14 games an 8 starts, she has 24 saves on the season.

LOPES vs. TRAILBLAZERS:
The two teams have faced off 13 times in the past in which Utah Tech holds a 6-5-2 record.

The squads faced off earlier this season at Greater Zion Stadium on October 21st. In the game Grand Canyon defeted the Trailblazers 1-0.

This is the first time the two teams have played at a neutral site.

Under the direction of head coach Molly Rouse Utah Tech is 0-3 aginst the Lopes