(Farmington, UT – Oct 6, 2026) – Utah Tech women's soccer earns its second Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week honors, as Ella Rusick was selected by the conference for the second time on Tuesday.

The senior forward from Litchfield Park, Arizona had a tremendous week of play to help lead the Trailblazers to a 2-0 start in Big Sky play, with wins over Portland State and Montana. This is Rusick's second Big Sky OPOW honors as she earned it after the first week of the season.

Ella recorded seven shots, six of them being on target, and had three points over the first week of conference play. 

On Thursday against Portland State, Rusick had a monster game, scoring the equalizer and assisting on the game-winning goal to secure a come from behind win after a 1-0 halftime deficit. 

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

Just over five minutes later, Ella had the ball on her foot yet 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 just 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 held up as the difference as UT won its conference opener 2-1.

Rusick recorded a shot in 55 minutes of play on Sunday as UT cruised to a 2-0 win over the defending Big Sky champions in Montana. 

The player of the week honors is Utah Tech's third of the season and Rusick's second, with the other coming from the defensive side as Elle Rafajko was tabbed with the honors after her performances against Utah and UC Riverside.

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Ella Rusick and the Trailblazers return to the pitch Thursday where they are set to take on second-place Weber State. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. inside of Wildcat Soccer Field.