(St George, UT – Oct 17, 2026) – Utah Tech women's soccer looks to extend its unbeaten streak to three, as they host Northern Arizona on Sunday afternoon in their regular season home finale. 

REGULAR SEASON: MATCH 15, BIG SKY 6
Who | Northern Arizona (6-4-3, 2-0-1 Big Sky) at Utah Tech (7-5-2, 3-1-1 Big Sky) 
When | Sunday, Oct 18 at 1 p.m. MST
Where | Greater Zion Stadium, St George, UT
Watch | ESPN+
Stats | Live Stats
Social Media | Instagram - X - #UtahTechisHere - #BigSkyWSOC

LAST TIME OUT
Utah Tech women's soccer earned a scoreless draw on senior day against Northern Colorado Thursday night.

It was a rather slow moving first 45 minutes of play that saw five shots per side, with just two being on the mark, and both on target shots came by the Trailblazers. 

Lexi Nelson and Gianna Tomasello recorded the shots on goal for UT in the first half, testing the keeper's lateral movement. The Trailblazers were kept at bay by the Bears' goalkeeper.

After no shots on goal in the first half, Northern Colorado came out firing in the second half, getting four of their eight shots on target. The Bears were stopped each time on timely saves from Emma McIff, who recorded her second shutout in a row.

In the 83rd minute, Utah Tech took their only corner of the second half, and just their second of the match. UT controlled the long ball on the opposite side of the kick, which was then played back into the box. After Taylee Hughes got the first touch, Ella Rusick was able to play it to herself, and chip it over the goalie for a go-ahead goal. 

After a lengthy video assisted review initiated by a UNCO coaches challenge, it was determined that Rusick committed a dangerous play with a high kick, resulting in a foul and the goal being disallowed.

A LOOK AT THE LUMBERJACKS
Northern Arizona enters Sunday's match coming off of a 1-1 draw in Cedar City against Southern Utah on Thursday night. Valerie Llamas scored a second-half equalizer in the form of a penalty kick. NAU had its three-match win streak snapped, but remained unbeaten in conference play. 

Northern Arizona was picked just behind Utah Tech in fourth in the preseason coaches poll, and Micala Boex was nominated as preseason player of the year. 

Micala Boex leads NAU in both goals and points, also firing a team high 66 shots. Lexi Saveski has been the mainstay in net for the Jacks, making 12 of 13 possible starts. Saveski has made 55 saves, pitched six shutouts, and is holding opponents to just 0.69 goals per game. 

SERIES HISTORY
Northern Arizona owns a slight edge in the series history between the two programs, with a 2-1-1 record. These teams met last year in Flagstaff, which saw a high-action 2-2 draw. 

2026 NON-CONFERENCE RECAP
The Trailblazers held a 4-4-1 record in the non-conference portion of their 2026 schedule. The four wins in non-conference matches the total from last year, and is the most since 2023 where UT won five. 

Utah Tech posted a 3-2 record at home including wins over Utah and Colorado State. The win over Utah was the first win over the Big12 Conference in program history, and the Colorado State victory was the first over a Pac12 Conference opponent. 

UTAH TECH PICKED THIRD IN COACHES' POLL
Utah Tech women's soccer is predicted to finish third (63 points, 1 first place vote) in their inaugural season in the Big Sky Conference Preseason Poll. This marks the second year in a row that UT has been picked to finish 3rd in the conference preseason poll, and ties the program's highest projected finish. The Trailblazers are one of three teams to receive a first place vote. 

Weber State (74 points and four 1st place votes) is selected as the preseason favorite and had three athletes selected to the 2026 Preseason All-Big Sky Team. Just behind the Wildcats is Idaho (70 points and three 1st place votes). 

TWO TRAILBLAZERS ON 2026 PRESEASON ALL-BIG SKY TEAM
UT landed two players on the 2026 Preseason All-Big Sky Team in Jocelyn Wright and Bre Koscielski. This is the second season in a row that Utah Tech has had multiple players selected to the preseason all-conference team, having three selected last year.

Jocelyn had quite the decorative season last year, as she earned the 2025 WAC Freshman of the Year Award, was 2nd team all-WAC, and was named to the 2025 WAC all-freshman team. She led UT in goals (6), and was third in both shots (29) and shots on goal (18) in 2025.

Bre had a solid 2025 campaign coming off her 2024 WAC all-freshman team honors. She set career highs in goals (4), assists (5), shots (26), and shots on goal (10) en route to earning 2nd team all-WAC.

RETURNING PRODUCTION
The Trailblazers return 16 players from last year's team, including Jocelyn Wright and Bre Koscielski who were listed on the 2026 Preseason All-Big Sky Team. All three players named to the 2025 WAC All-Freshman team returned for this season, including Abby Olsen who also was named to the 2025 All-WAC 1st Team. 

NEW TRAILBLAZERS IN TOWN
UT brought in seven high school athletes as a part of their 2026 recruiting class, as well as three athletes via the transfer portal. The Trailblazers welcome student-athletes from three states, including five from Utah. 

Salt Lake Community College transfer Elle Rafajko looks to make an immediate impact as the Trailblazers lose their starting goalie from a year ago to graduation. Rafajko is the reigning back-to-back Scenic West Athletic Conference Goalkeeper, and a 2024 NJCAA Second Team All-American. She posted 8 shutouts with a 0.44 goals against average and a .901 save percentage. 

A freshman to watch this year is CC Malohifo'ou from Saratoga Springs, Utah. CC represents Tonga on its international team, playing in the 2025 U19 Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) World Cup Qualifiers. She logged a hat trick to help the Kingdom secure a spot in the championships. In 2024, Malohifo'ou led Tonga's U16 squad to its first-ever medal, taking bronze in the OFC World Cup Qualifiers.

HELLO BIG SKY
Utah Tech joined the Big Sky Conference officially on July 1, 2026, in all Big Sky sponsored sports. Southern Utah also made the jump over from the Western Athletic Conference, where they once called the Big Sky home before their brief tenure in the WAC.

Utah Tech will begin conference play on Oct 1, with a home match versus Portland State. UT had a strong 4-0-1 record versus Big Sky opponents last year, including a sweep of rival Southern Utah. Last season's mark pushed the Trailblazers' overall record to 13-5-6 versus Big Sky opposition.