(Irvine, CA - Aug 12, 2026) – Utah Tech women's soccer scores just over a minute into their season opening match in Irvine, and hold off the Anteaters for a 1-1 draw.
The Trailblazers (0-0-1) wasted no time, as
Ella Rusick received a great through ball from
Lataya Brost and beat the UC Irvine (0-0-1) goalkeeper to the left for the first Trailblazer goal of the season. Freshman,
Channing Wuest, also assisted on the play, recording her first collegiate point.
Emma McIff got the start in goal tonight for Utah Tech and was busy early on. The Anteaters fired 5 first half shots, including three on target. McIff saved all of the shots on goal and maintained the early Trailblazer lead.
Most of Utah Tech's second half pressure came early as
Nicole Choren,
Jocelyn Wright, and Lexi fired consecutive shots in the 48th minute. The UCI defense was able to provide a strong backline preventing the first two shots from getting through, with the third shot being off target.
Looking for the equalizer in the 73rd minute, the Anteaters had a free kick in the Trailblazer side. Hailey Clingin served one up in the air toward the goal and three players went up to challenge the ball. The ball came down and hit a UT defender and deflected into the goal for an own goal to tie the score.
Following the equalizing goal, UC Irvine kept the pressure on by getting two more shots on goal, but were unable to convert.
UC Irvine applied a lot of pressure in the second half, firing eight shots with five of them being on target. The Trailblazers made a keeper substitution at halftime, as redshirt freshman
Brenna Kelleher made her collegiate debut. Kelleher was able to make four saves.
Eight Trailblazer substitutions were able to make their way into the game today, with
Lexi Nelson leading the way with 46 minutes. Five Utah Tech freshmen were able to make their collegiate debuts in their first game, including
Channing Wuest getting the start and playing all 90 minutes.
NEXT UP
The Trailblazers continue their season opening road swing in southern California with a Saturday evening match in "America's Finest City" on Aug. 15, at UC San Diego.
