(St George, UT - Oct 4, 2026) – Utah Tech women's soccer looks to sweep the homestand as they welcome the defending Big Sky champions, Montana, to Greater Zion Stadium.

REGULAR SEASON: MATCH 11, BIG SKY 2
Who | Montana (3-6-0, 1-0-0 Big Sky) at Utah Tech (5-4-1, 1-0-0 Big Sky)
When | Sunday, Oct 4 at 11 a.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 got two second half goals from "Ella's" to come from behind and win their Big Sky Conference debut, 2-1 over Portland State.

The first score of the game came off the foot of Elle Frazier for the Vikings (2-8-0, 0-1-0 Big Sky), to give them the 1-0 lead. 

Portland State and Utah Tech both had six shots on goal in the first half as PSU held a 1-0 lead at the break. 

Utah Tech was able to find the equalizer just over ten minutes into the second half as Ella Rusick fired a shot from just outside the box that found the back of the net to even the score. The goal was Rusick's fifth of the season, which ties her for the team lead and conference lead with Lataya Brost. 

Just over five minutes later, Ella Rusick had the ball on her foot again in a dangerous scoring area. This time, the Vikings sent a double team at her, so she set up fellow Ella, Ella Weathers, just outside the box. From about the same spot as Rusick's goal, Weathers let one go and beat the PSU goalie to the right side, to give the Trailblazers the lead. The goal was Weathers' first goal of her career.

GRIZZLIES REPORT
Montana is coming off of a 1-0 win at Southern Utah in their conference opener on Thursday. Megan Wilson-Sofield had the game-winner in the 86th minute to lift the Griz to a victory. 

Montana carries an overall record of 3-6-0, having won their first road match on Thursday in their fifth try. 

Two Grizzlies are tied for the team lead in goals with two, and they also are tied in points with four. Avery Heeb has been the mainstay in goal for Montana, starting eight of their nine matches so far. Heeb has made 32 saves and is holding opponents to 1.93 goals per game.

SERIES HISTORY
Montana won the only previous match between the two programs back in 2023, in a neutral-site match in Spokane in 2023.

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.