Game #9
Who | Utah Tech (3-3-2, 0-0-0 WAC) vs. Portland State (1-3-2, 0-0-0 Big Sky)
When | Friday, Sept. 19 - 7 p.m. 
Where | Greater Zion Stadium (St. George, Utah)
Social Media | Instagram + Twitter (X) + #UtahTechBlazers

LAST TIME OUT
Utah Tech women's soccer battled to a 2-2 draw against Northern Arizona on Sunday afternoon at Greater Zion Stadium. Trailblazer senior goalkeeper Brianna Frey earned a season-high seven saves in the effort. The Trailblazers got on the scoreboard in the 43rd minute. Freshman forward Jocelyn Wright crossed a ball toward the left side of the box, and junior forward Ella Rusick volleyed it into the back of the net with her left foot. It was Rusick's first goal of the season and Wright's first career assist. Senior forward Lacy Fox stole the ball back and buried a shot in the upper left corner of the net to extend UT's lead to 2-0 in the 49th minute. The Lumberjacks scored in the 51st and 62nd minutes to level the match. Northern Arizona outshot Utah Tech 19-15, with a 9-8 edge in shots on goal. 

ASSIST ADEPT
Senior midfielder Kyah Le leads the Trailblazers with four assists this season, tying for second in the WAC and 45th in the nation. With goals against UC Riverside and Utah, Le is tied for the fourth-most points (8) in the WAC.

Redshirt sophomore forward Lataya Brost and sophomore midfielder Bre Koscielski have each assisted on two goals this season. Their two helpers are tied for fifth in the WAC. 

IT'S 'FREY'-DAY
Entering the Trailblazers' only match on a Friday this season, senior goalkeeper Brianna Frey has racked up 720 minutes in net, tying for the WAC lead and 35th in the nation. Frey is also tied for fourth in shutouts (1), fifth in saves (23) and fifth in goals against average (1.50) in the WAC. 

FRESHMAN FIREPOWER
Four of Utah Tech's goals this season have come from true freshmen. Forwards Brooke Hendricks (2) and Jocelyn Wright (1) and defender Abby Olsen (1) have each made a tally in the goal column. Hendricks is tied for the team lead in goals.

THE ENEMY OF YOUR ENEMIES
Utah Tech and Portland State have four common opponents this season in CSUN, Idaho State, Northern Arizona and Southern Utah. At CSUN, UT recorded a 2-1 victory (8/28), while PSU fell to the Matadors 4-0 at home (9/4). The Trailblazers recorded a 3-2 win at Idaho State (9/4) and a 2-2 draw with NAU at home (9/14). UT will take on SUU twice in WAC play. The Vikings will face SUU on Sunday, then challenge ISU and NAU in Big Sky play. 

SCOUTING PORTLAND STATE
The Vikings visit St. George after earning a 1-1 tie at home against cross-town rival Portland on Saturday night. In the 89th minute, junior forward Ocean Rideout scored the equalizer, giving PSU their first-ever tie against the Pilots. The draw stopped a two-game losing skid. The Vikings are looking for their first win over a Division I opponent against the Trailblazers. PSU's lone win this season was a 2-1 victory over D-II Western Oregon.

Rideout leads Portland State with two goals and four points this season. Sophomore forward Aliayha Saldana has totaled three points on a goal and an assist. She leads PSU in shots (14) and shots on goal (7). 

In net, the Vikings have split time between redshirt junior goalkeeper Natalie Cunningham and redshirt sophomore GK Finley Crabtree. Cunningham has totaled 17 saves in four matches with a .654 save percentage and 2.25 goals against average. Crabtree has started twice, including in last week's draw with Portland. In 180 minutes, Crabtree has eight saves with a .800 save percentage and a 1.00 goals against average.

SERIES HISTORY
Sunday's match will be the third all-time meeting between Utah Tech and Portland State. UT holds a 1-0-1 lead. In St. George, the Trailblazers lead 1-0-0. The two teams' last meeting was a 1-1 draw in Hillsboro last season (9/20/24). 

CHASING HISTORY
In Utah Tech's career record book, senior forward Lacy Fox ranks sixth all-time in game-winning goals (6), tied for sixth all-time in career goals (18) and tied for 10th all-time in shots (104). The native of Highland, Utah, recorded UT's most recent hat trick against UNLV last season.

Senior goalkeeper Brianna Frey ranks first all-time in career saves (190), second all-time in career minutes (3,645), tied for fifth all-time in career shutouts (6) and 10th all-time in career goals against average (1.54). 

THREE TRAILBLAZERS ON 2025 PRESEASON ALL-WAC TEAM
Senior forward Lacy Fox, senior midfielder Kyah Le and junior defender Michelle Rodriguez were selected to the 2025 Preseason All-WAC Team. This trio is the first Trailblazers named to the Preseason All-WAC Team since Karli Heaton was picked in 2023. Three honorees is the most UT has ever placed on the Preseason All-WAC team, topping one selection in 2023 (Heaton) and 2021 (Whitley Griffiths). 

Fox earned Second Team All-WAC honors in 2024 after leading the Trailblazers in goals (8, second-most in the WAC), points (18, third-most in the WAC), shots (40), shots on goal (18), and game-winning goals (2). Fox started 16 of her 17 appearances, totaling 1,086 minutes on the pitch, the most by any Trailblazer forward.

Le returns after starting all 17 games and playing 1,435 minutes on the pitch in 2024. Le tallied the second-most assists (3) and fourth-most points (5) on the 2024 Utah Tech squad. A veteran leader, Le is the only senior midfielder and one of three upperclassmen in the midfield for UT.

Rodriguez also started all 17 games last season, totaling 1,427 minutes and helping the Trailblazers shut out three opponents. The junior defender from West Valley City, Utah, is expected to anchor the Utah Tech defense, succeeding three-time Second Team All-WAC honoree Gracie Knutzen after her graduation.

UTAH TECH PICKED THIRD IN COACHES' POLL
The Trailblazers tied for third with 15 points in the 2025 WAC Preseason Coaches' Poll, the highest placement UT has ever garnered, besting fifth-place nods in 2023 and 2024. Utah Tech finished sixth in the WAC regular season standings last year with a 2-4-1 mark in conference play and a 5-75 record overall. The Trailblazers made their third-straight WAC Tournament appearance, falling to Seattle U, 2-0 in the quarterfinals. 

Utah Valley (24 points and four first-place votes) is the preseason favorite, predicted by the league's coaches to repeat as regular-season champions. California Baptist, the 2024 WAC Tournament champs, came in second (22 points, two first-place votes). Tarleton State tied with UT with 15 points. Abilene Christian (fifth, eight points) and Southern Utah (sixth, six points) rounded out the poll. 

2024 RECAP
Utah Tech made its third-straight WAC Tournament appearance after finishing sixth in the conference with seven points. After four straight losses to start conference play, UT rallied to secure points in each of its last three games on the road. Overall, the Trailblazers went 5-7-5 in their second year under head coach Lexi Brown. UT garnered four all-WAC selections with senior forward Lacy Fox and sophomore Bre Koscielski returning for the 2025 campaign. 

RETURNING PRODUCTION
The Trailblazers bring back 12 letter winners and four squad members from the 2024 team. Utah Tech's returners were responsible for 83% of goals (19-of-23), 58% of assists (11-of-19) and 75% of points (49-of-65) in 2024. Two 2024 All-WAC honorees remain in senior forward Lacy Fox (Second Team) and sophomore midfielder Bre Koscielski (All-WAC Freshman Team). 

Senior goalkeeper Brianna Frey returns after leading the WAC in saves per game (5.38), posting three shutouts and earning two WAC Goalkeeper of the Week selections in 2024.

Senior Tessa Thornton returns to action after missing the 2024 season due to injury. The five-foot-six forward totaled seven points on three goals and an assist in 2023. In UT's exhibition at BYU, Thornton equalized for the Trailblazers in the 57th minute, totaling three shots, two shots on goal, in 55 minutes last Saturday.

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK
UT welcomed 11 newcomers, including two transfers and nine true freshmen, to its 2025 roster. 

Junior midfielder Teagan Jaussi transferred from DII Ouachita (Wah-CHI-tah) Baptist, where she led the Tigers in goals (6), assists (5) and points (17) on her way to earning United Soccer Coaches All-Central Region Team, D2 Conference Commissioners Association All-Region First Team and unanimous First Team All-Great American Conference honors. 

Redshirt freshman midfielder Liv Leonard defected from Grand Canyon after redshirting the 2024 campaign in Phoenix, Arizona. Leonard helped GCU go undefeated, playing in all matches during the Lopes' spring slate this offseason.

Utah Tech's freshman class features four forwards, two midfielders, three defenders and a goalkeeper. Freshman Rachel Boren is a forward and midfielder.

REPRESENTING THE 801
Two-thirds of Utah Tech's roster hails from the Beehive State. 16 of those 18 student-athletes' hometowns are on the Wasatch Front, a long and relatively narrow strip of land to the west of the Wasatch Mountains, where approximately 80% of Utahns live. Sophomore forward Ella Cotter is Utah Tech's homegrown product, claiming St. George as her hometown and graduating from Crimson Cliffs High School in Washington, Utah. Freshman defender Macie Burton hails from the small, unincorporated town of Mountain Green, Utah, in the Wasatch Back.

THE SPOKANE CONNECTION
Head coach Lexi Brown was an assistant coach at Gonzaga for five seasons prior to accepting the top job in St. George. While in Spokane, Washington, Brown coached senior midfielder Kyah Le (GU 2022-23) and first-year assistant coach Lauren Towne (GU goalkeeper 2020-24). Additionally, sophomore midfielder Bre Koscielski and senior forward Tessa Thornton hail from Spokane. While the Trailblazers don't face the Bulldogs this season, the Utah Tech men's soccer team's home opener is against Gonzaga on Aug. 21.

BIG SKY BOUND
Utah Tech announced this offseason that it will become a full member of the Big Sky Conference on July 1, 2026. The Trailblazers will join a robust women's soccer cohort that includes Eastern Washington, Idaho, Idaho State, Montana, Northern Arizona, Northern Colorado, Portland State and Southern Utah (The Thunderbirds will rejoin the Big Sky in 2026). The Big Sky has sent a team to the NCAA College Cup every season since 1999, with three squads making it as far as the second round. UT has a combined record of 10-5-5 all-time against its future conference mates.

WHAT'S NEXT
The Trailblazers begin conference play on Sunday, Sept. 28, at Southern Utah. The first edition of this season's Battle for the Axe will kick off at 1 p.m. at Thunderbird Soccer Field in Cedar City, Utah.