Game #2
Who | Utah Tech (0-0-1, 0-0-0 WAC) at Sacramento State (0-1-0, 0-0-0 Big West)
When | Sunday, Aug. 24 - 2 p.m. (MT)
Where | Hornet Field - Sacramento, Calif.
Social Media | Instagram + Twitter (X) + #UtahTechBlazers

TRAILBLAZERS IN ROAD OPENERS
Utah Tech is 6-10-1 all-time in road openers. The Trailblazers will look to break a four-year streak of road opener losses on Sunday. UT broke three-year streaks of home opener and season opener losses with Thursday's draw.

SHORT NAMED WAC PRESEASON GOALKEEPER 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. The native of Pleasant View, Utah, 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.

EXHIBITIONS IN REVIEW
Utah Tech played three exhibitions last week to gear up for the 2025 season. After a scoreless draw with the College of Idaho, the Trailblazers picked up wins against Snow College (4-0) and Colorado Mesa (2-0). Freshman goalkeeper Luca Campoli earned the first two clean sheets, and senior GK Stockton Short logged a shutout against CMU. 

SCOUTING SACRAMENTO STATE
The Hornets host Utah Tech for the home opener after a tough visit to the Bay Area on Thursday evening. Sac State fell to No. 13 Stanford 5-1 on the road, scoring its lone goal on a penalty kick in the 36th minute. Junior forward Donovan Sessoms converted the PK. The Cardinal scored in the second minute and never looked back, leading by at least one goal the rest of the match. 

Sessoms returns for the Hornets after a 10-goal, 20-point season in 2024. That firepower earned him preseason All-Big West honors. Sac State also returns sophomore forward Sean Battistessa, who netted five goals and added an assist for 11 points last year. After losing its 2024 starting goalkeeper Mac Learned to graduation, Sacramento State had split time between senior Andres Rosales and Lucas Bost through one match.

Last year, Sac State finished ninth in the Big West at 6-10-2, missing the conference tournament with a 2-8-1 record in league play. On Sunday, the Hornets will look to snap a four-game losing streak, dating back to Oct. 23, 2024. 

SERIES HISTORY
Sunday's matchup will be the third all-time meeting between Utah Tech and Sac State. The Hornets hold a 2-0 advantage, with a 1-0 lead in games in Sacramento. Sac State took the last meeting 1-0 in Sacramento (8/31/23). 

CHASING HISTORY
Among Utah Tech's career records, junior Stockton Short is third in saves (191), third in minutes played (3,735), tied for third in goals against average (1.47) and fourth in shutouts (6).

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 with three wins and a draw to clinch the final tournament spot. 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 for this season. 

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.

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK
UT welcomed 10 newcomers, including four transfers and six freshmen, for its 2025 season.

Junior defender Cihan Caliskan joins the Trailblazers after winning an NJCAA national championship with Iowa Western Community College in 2024. He played his freshman season at Rose State College. 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 Community College (NJCAA) in 2024. Huebner started 19 of his 20 appearances and tallied his career-first assist on a game-winning goal against Snow College. Huebner spent his freshman season at Colorado Mesa (Division II). 

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 seven goals (with two game-winners) and eight assists for 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). 

Redshirt freshman midfielder/defender Mitch Williams left Cal State Fullerton for Utah Tech. Williams redshirted 2024, but has an impressive prep resume. A four-year varsity starter at Lake Highlands High School in Dallas, Texas, he was a three-time First Team all-district (2022-24) honoree, two-time Golden Boot and two-time team MVP.

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

NCAA MILESTONES
The 2024 campaign marked Utah Tech's first full season as an official Division I institution after completing a four-year transition period starting in 2020. The 2024 season was UT's 17th season of NCAA-affiliated men's soccer. Since the 2008 season, the Trailblazers have totaled 361 goals, 268 assists, 991 points, 115 wins and played in 293 matches.

WHAT'S NEXT
Utah Tech will head out to Minnesota to face St. Thomas for the first time in program history. The match is set for Thursday, Aug. 28, at 11 a.m. (MT).