(Ogden, UT – Oct 8, 2026) – Utah Tech women's soccer looks to keep the strong start going in Big Sky Conference play as they head on their first conference road trip, beginning Thursday in Ogden against Weber State.

REGULAR SEASON: MATCH 12, BIG SKY 3
Who | Utah Tech (6-4-1, 2-0-0 Big Sky) at Weber State (5-5-2, 1-0-1 Big Sky)
When | Thursday, Oct 8 at 7 p.m. MST
Where | Wildcat Soccer Field, Ogden, UT.
Watch | ESPN+
Stats | Live Stats
Social Media | Instagram - X - #UtahTechisHere - #BigSkyWSOC

LAST TIME OUT
Utah Tech women's soccer got an own goal and one from Ella Cotter in the first half to roll past the defending Big Sky champions on Sunday morning to complete a perfect 2-0 homestand.

UT got off to a quick start where Brooke Hendricks crossed one in front of the net and was deflected in by a Grizzly (3-7-0, 1-1-0) defender for an own goal, giving Utah Tech an early 1-0 lead. 

Utah Tech's first shot attempt came just over a minute later as Ella Rusick, who is tied for the Big Sky lead in goals, fired a shot off the post. 

In the 32nd minute, the Blazers earned a corner kick. Lataya Brost took the corner, where it was controlled by Bre Koscielski, who was making her season debut, who set up Michelle Rodriguez and she put it in the back of the net. After video assisted review, it was determined there was a hand ball before the shot, so the goal was disallowed.

Just over five minutes later, UT gained control off of a Montana turnover, and Ella Cotter was set up beautifully by Lataya Brost and Gianna Tomasello who poked it past the keeper to extend the lead to two. The goal was Cotter's first of the season.

Both teams had plenty of scoring chances, as there were 17 total shots on goal and five saves between the two goalies. 

Elle Rafajko anchored the UT backline beautifully, en route to a clean sheet. Rafajko made three saves, recording her third shut out of the season.

WILDCAT WRITE-UP
Weber State enters Thursday's match coming off of an action-packed 3-2 win at Eastern Washington on Sunday. The Wildcats surged out to a three goal first half lead and survived a late push by EWU that saw the lead dwindle to just one. WSU had three different goal scorers, with Oakley Anderson leading in points by scoring one and assisting on the others. 

Weber State (74 points and four 1st place votes) was selected as the preseason favorite in the Big Sky and had four athletes selected to the 2026 Preseason All-Big Sky Team in Oakley Anderson, Lily Blum, Lauren Butorac, and Isabella Sackett.

Lily Blum leads Weber State with four goals on the season. She also leads the team in points with ten. Lauren Butorac anchors the backline for the Wildcats, starting in all 12 matches and recording 59 saves and two shutouts. Butorac is holding opponents to 1.76 goals allowed per match. 

SERIES HISTORY
The two programs have faced each other three times since UT became a Division 1 member, and the series is dead even at 1-1-1. The previous matchup came in 2024 in Ogden where the battle ended in a 1-1 draw. Now junior Bre Koscielski scored her first career goal in that match. 

RUSICK NAMED BIG SKY OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK FOR THE SECOND TIME
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 honor 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.

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.  

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.