(Cheney, WA – Oct 24, 2026) – Utah Tech women's soccer looks to take some momentum into their bye next week with a road match at Eastern Washington.

REGULAR SEASON: MATCH 17, BIG SKY 8
Who | Utah Tech (7-6-3, 3-2-2 Big Sky) at Eastern Washington (6-6-2, 0-4-1 Big Sky)
When | Sunday, Oct 25 at 1p.m. PST / 2 p.m. MST
Where | EWU Soccer Field, Cheney, WA
Watch | ESPN+
Stats | Live Stats
Social Media | Instagram - X - #UtahTechisHere - #BigSkyWSOC

LAST TIME OUT
Utah Tech women's soccer earned a scoreless draw against Idaho on Thursday night to kick off their season-ending road trip.

Coming into tonight's match, Emma McIff had held opponents scoreless in each of the last three first halves. That was the story again as the Utah Tech netminder held the Vandals scoreless in the first half, denying the lone shot on target.

Both teams had opportunities in the first half, as there were twelve shots combined, but neither side were able to break through, resulting in a scoreless tie heading into the break. 

McIff continued her strong play into the second half, where she was able to record two more saves en route to her third shutout in her last four matches. McIff lowered her goals allowed average to just 1.37.

EWU PREVIEW
The Eagles are coming off of an action-packed 3-2 loss at home against Southern Utah on Thursday. EWU got two second-half goals from Deanna Montero and Maya Bossenbrook to even the score after SUU took a 2-0 lead into halftime. In the 84th minute, the Thunderbirds got a second goal on the day from Ashlyn O'Malley to propel them to a 3-2 win. 

Eastern Washington was predicted to finish in fifth in the Big Sky Preseason Coaches Poll, and Iris Mattern was selected to the preseason all-conference team. 

Deanna Montero is the leading goal-scorer for EWU with four on the season, and Mia Miconi leads the team in points with nine. Payton Hide has started all 14 matches in goal for the Eagles, and has recorded 75 saves while holding opponents to just 1.14 goals per game. 

SERIES HISTORY
This is the first ever meeting between the two programs. 

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.