Game #10
Who | Utah Tech (1-5-3, 0-0-0 WAC) at UNLV (3-4-2, 0-0-0 WAC)
When | Saturday, Oct. 4 - 8 p.m. (MT)
Where | Peter Johann Memorial Field - Las Vegas, Nev.
Social Media | Instagram + Twitter (X) + #UtahTechBlazers

TRAILBLAZERS IN CONFERENCE OPENERS
All-time in conference openers, Utah Tech is 6-8-3 with a 2-3-0 mark in WAC openers. In road conference openers, UT is 7-7-3 with a 2-1-2 mark in WAC road openers. Saturday's match is just the second time Utah Tech has opened WAC play on the road and the first time UT has opened conference play against UNLV.

ASSIST AGENTS
Fifth-year forward Colby Lee and senior forward Samir Cuevas are among the nation's elite in assists. With three assists each, Cuevas and Lee tie for fifth in the WAC and 87th in the nation. Lee started off the season hot with three assists across the first four games, while Cuevas tallied two in his season debut against Cal State Bakersfield and added a third against Cal State Fullerton.

RELIABLE ROGERS
Sophomore forward Taylor Rogers leads the Trailblazers with three goals, tying for fourth in the WAC and 125th in the nation. Rogers put in a brace against Cal State Bakersfield on Sept. 6 to help Utah Tech earn its first win of the season. It was Roger's first career multi-goal match, giving him his first career game-winning goal. 

NIELSEN PUTS 'EM ON FRAME
Sophomore midfielder Dunes Nielsen is fourth in the conference and 53rd in the nation in shot accuracy with a percentage of .500. Nielsen's 18 shots are eighth in the WAC, while his 2.00 shots per game are tied for ninth in the conference. 

SHORT IS IN THE WAY
In six appearances, senior goalkeeper Stockton Short's save percentage of .800 is third in the conference and 38th in the nation, and his 4.00 saves per game are third in the WAC and come in at 43rd in the country. Last year, Short led the nation in saves with 105 stops, setting the Utah Tech single-season record.

LAST TIME OUT
Utah Tech men's soccer dropped its final non-conference match to Cal State Fullerton, 3-1, on Sept. 21 at Greater Zion Stadium. Sophomore forward Taylor Rogers scored his team-leading third goal in the effort. UT opened the scoring in the 19th minute. Sophomore midfielder Dunes Nielsen centered the ball to Rogers, who left it for junior forward Samir Cuevas. Cuevas played a ball into the box on the left, and Rogers uncorked a shot with his right foot, blasting it into the upper right corner to give the Trailblazers a 1-0 lead. CSUF leveled things at 1-1 in the 20th minute. Just before halftime, CSUF took a 2-1 lead off a Trailblazer own goal in the 43rd minute. Cal State Fullerton put in an insurance goal in the 73rd minute. In his third career start, freshman goalkeeper Luca Campoli totaled three saves. CSUF outshot UT 21-12, with a 5-4 advantage in shots on goal. 

SCOUTING UNLV
The Rebels host Utah Tech after a home win over UC Irvine, 2-0, on Sept. 26. UNLV is 3-1-1 at home this season, with its one home loss at the hands of UC Riverside, 2-0, on Sept. 5. 

UNLV enjoys a balanced offense with six Rebels tying for the team lead with one goal apiece. Senior midfielder Jonah Craig and junior forward Tyler Ware lead the Rebels with three points. The Rebel offense has outshot its opponent just once this season (12-11 vs. CSU Bakersfield), with opponents holding a 138-67 shot advantage. Offensively, UNLV has been shut out six times.

In net, junior goalkeeper Hugo Lemos has led the Rebels to three shutouts, ranking third in the conference and 50th nationally. His 30 saves also rank third in the WAC and 58th in the nation. Lemos has a 1.44 goals against average with a .698 save percentage.

SERIES HISTORY
Saturday's match will be the sixth all-time meeting between UT and UNLV. The Trailblazers lead the series 3-2-0. In Las Vegas, the series is tied at 1-1-0. Last season's meeting was a 2-1 Utah Tech win in St. George, clinching a WAC Tournament berth for UT (11/3/24).

CHASING HISTORY
Among Utah Tech's career records, junior Stockton Short is third in saves (210), third in minutes played (4,120), third in goals against average (1.45) and fourth in shutouts (7).

SHORT NAMED WAC PRESEASON GK OF THE YEAR
Senior goalkeeper Stockton Short is the 2025 WAC Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year, the Western Athletic Conference announced on Aug. 15, based on voting by WAC head coaches. Short was also named to the Preseason All-WAC Team with teammate Samir Cuevas. The pair are the first Trailblazers in program history to earn preseason honors from the WAC. 

Short led the nation in saves with 105 stops last season, setting the Utah Tech single-season record. He played all 1,620 minutes of last season, starting 18 matches in goal in 2024. Short logged two shutouts and was named WAC Goalkeeper of the Week on Oct. 14 after setting the UT Division I era single-game record for saves with 11 at Seattle U.

CUEVAS MAKES PRESEASON ALL-WAC TEAM
Junior forward Samir Cuevas and senior goalkeeper Stockton Short were named to the Preseason All-WAC Team as announced by the league on Aug. 15. The pair are the first-ever Trailblazers to earn preseason WAC honors. 

A Second Team All-WAC honoree in 2024, Cuevas led Utah Tech in goals (4), points (8), shots (25) and shots on goal (12) last season. The native of Valera, Venezuela, scored the game-winning goal in a 2-1 victory over UNLV to earn UT's spot in the WAC Tournament. Cuevas also made the All-WAC Freshman Team in 2023, scoring three goals, including two game-winners.

2024 RECAP
Utah Tech made its second-straight WAC Tournament appearance after finishing sixth in the regular season with 1.22 points per conference game. The Trailblazers surged in the latter half of the season, totaling 10 points in their final five matches. Overall, UT went 4-10-4 with a 3-4-2 mark in league play. Utah Tech received three all-WAC selections with junior forward Samir Cuevas (Second Team) and redshirt sophomore defender Tanner Dutra (Freshman Team) returning.

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK
UT welcomed 10 newcomers, including four transfers and six freshmen, for 2025.
Junior defender Cihan Caliskan joins the Trailblazers after winning an NJCAA national championship with Iowa Western CC in 2024. Caliskan has totaled 33 appearances with 21 starts, logging seven goals and 14 assists through two seasons. He is the first Trailblazer men's soccer player from Germany. 

Junior midfielder Landon Huebner came to St. George after earning First Team All-American and First Team All-Region honors at Salt Lake CC (NJCAA) in 2024. 

Fifth-year forward Colby Lee transferred from Hawai'i-Hilo (DII) this offseason. He started 30 of his 32 appearances over two seasons in the Aloha State, totaling 22 points. The 2023 All-PacWest Second Team honoree left Hawai'i-Hilo ranking fifth all-time in points (22) and sixth all-time in assists (8). 

Utah Tech's freshman class consists of two defenders, two goalkeepers and two midfielders. 

RETURNING PRODUCTION
The Trailblazers bring back 11 letter winners and three squad members from the 2024 team. UT's returners were responsible for 53% of goals (9-of-17), 23% of assists (3-of-13) and 45% of points (21-of-47) in 2024. 

Senior goalkeeper Stockton Short returns after leading the WAC in saves (105) and saves per game (5.83), while ranking second in save percentage (.784). His 105 saves last season tied for the national lead.

Additionally, previous letter winners in sophomore forward Taylor Rogers (2022), sophomore midfielder Dunes Nielsen (2022) and senior forward Andre Saucedo (2023) return for the Trailblazers. Rogers led the 2022 squad in points (5) with two goals and an assist in 18 appearances with 10 starts. Nielsen led the team in shots (18) and tied with Rogers for the most shots on goal (7), while adding three assists in 18 appearances with six starts. In 2023, Saucedo recorded an assist across eight appearances with three starts.

WHAT'S NEXT
Utah Tech hosts its conference home opener on Thursday, Oct. 9, against San José State. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m.