Game #16
Who | Utah Tech (4-6-5, 1-4-1 WAC) at Southern Utah (2-9-5, 0-4-2)
When | Saturday, Oct. 26 - 1 p.m. (MT)
Where | Thunderbird Soccer Field - Cedar City, Utah
Social Media | Instagram + Twitter (X) + #UtahTechBlazers

WIN OR TIE AND WE'RE IN
Utah Tech needs a win or tie to clinch the sixth and final spot in the WAC Tournament. Southern Utah would make the tourney with a win vs. UT and Tarleton State win/tie OR win vs. UT, ACU win and SUU holds the tiebreaker of conference goal differential over ACU. Abilene Christian would take the sixth seed if they win vs. TSU, SUU win and ACU holds the tiebreaker of conference goal differential over SUU.

LAST TIME OUT
Utah Tech women's soccer drew with Abilene Chrisitan 1-1 on Sunday afternoon at Elmer Gray Stadium. Junior Lox Neves scored UT's lone goal of the match, hitting the upper 90 on the left side of the goal to beat Wildcat goalkeeper Lili Ross in the 74th minute. Freshman Bre Koscielski assisted Neves, dribbling past two Wildcats to give her teammate the chance. The goal was Neves' first collegiate goal and she scored it against her former team, ACU, where she spent the first two seasons of her career. Abilene Chrisitan leveled the contest when senior Taylor Sarver hit the right upper 90 to score in the 79th minute. Sophomore Baylie Simon assisted her. The Wildcats went on to launch eight shots over the last 10 minutes of play. UT goalkeeper Brianna Frey earned three saves in the barrage to keep things tied up when the final whistle was blown. ACU outshot UT 22-14 with a 6-5 advantage in shots on goal. Both teams committed nine fouls and had one offsides. Utah Tech, behind Frey, totaled five saves to Abilene Christian's three.

SCOUTING SOUTHERN UTAH
The Thunderbirds host Utah Tech after falling at Tarleton State 1-0 on Sunday. SUU is 0-4-2 in WAC play, earning a point against Seattle U and Abilene Christian. Southern Utah's two wins came in the non-conference slate over Colorado College (2-0) and Sacramento State (2-1). 

SUU's leader in points is redshirt junior Whitney Gardner (11) who is the team's leading scorer with four goals and second in assists with three. Goalkeeper Darya Mosallaei has totaled four shutouts and 62 saves through 14 games this season. 

Southern Utah leads the WAC in fouls per game (6.00) and is tied for first in penalty-kick percentage (1.000). SUU is second in the conference in shot accuracy (.491). The Thunderbirds' 6.00 fouls per game come in at sixth nationally. 

SERIES HISTORY
Saturday's match will be the fifth all-time meeting between UT and SUU. The Trailblazers are undefeated against the Thunderbirds, posting a 2-0-2 mark. Last season, the teams drew 2-2 in St. George. In Cedar City, Utah Tech is 2-0-0 with wins of 1-0 and 2-1 in 2022 and 2021, respectively. 

UT BY THE NUMBERS
Utah Tech ranks 47th in the nation in saves per game (5.53) and 70th in fouls per game (7.87). The Trailblazers are tied for the national and WAC lead in penalty kick percentage (1.000) and are third in the WAC in saves per game (5.53) and fouls per game (7.87). 

'FOX,' NO PRINTER
Junior Lacy Fox is tied for the best penalty-kick percentage in the nation, converting PKs against UNLV and at Idaho for a perfect 100% rate this season. Fox is second in the WAC in points per game (1.07), third in total goals (7) and goals per game (0.47), fourth in total points (16) and fifth in shots (36). 

FRESHMAN PHENOM
Freshman Lataya Brost is making a name for herself with the 10 points she has accumulated this season. That is first among all freshmen in the WAC and eighth in the conference. Brost's four goals also lead all WAC freshmen and tie for fourth in the conference. Brost's breakout game came against Utah Valley where the native of Orem, Utah, registered five points (two goals and an assist) against her hometown Wolverines. 

TRY TO GET PAST FREY
Junior Brianna Frey is second in the conference in total saves (78), which comes in at 45th in the nation. Frey is also second in the WAC in saves per game (5.20), which ranks 46th in the country. Frey has also posted two shutouts this season.

CHASING HISTORY
Among Utah Tech's career records, junior Brianna Frey ranks second in saves (147), fifth in goalkeeper minutes (2,655), tied for ninth in shutouts (4) and 10th in wins (9). Junior Lacy Fox is tied for sixth all-time in game-winning goals (5) and tied for eighth in goals (15). 

WHAT'S NEXT
The WAC Tournament starts on Sunday, Nov. 3 in Abilene, Texas, at Elmer Gray Stadium.