(St George, UT - Aug 20, 2026) – Utah Tech women's soccer rolls past Westminster to win their season opener, 3-1, Thursday night.
Utah Tech (1-1-1) got the home opening fun started early in the sixth minute when Joelyn Wright netted her first goal of the year off of a nice pass from Preseason All-Big Sky nominee,
Bre Koscielski. The goal was Jocelyn's first of the season, and Bre assist was also her first of the year.
In the 22nd minute, Utah Tech forced a corner off of a
Abby Olsen shot that was saved by the Westminster goalkeeper.
Lataya Brost took the corner for the Trailblazers and served one toward the short side where a Griffin defender deflected the ball into the net for an own goal.
In the 29th minute, fifth year forward,
Lacy Fox, made her season debut. Fox tallied two shots in her 41 minutes of play off the bench tonight.
The Trailblazers took a 2-0 lead into halftime, outshooting the Griffins 6-3 in the first half.
Utah Tech came out of the half keeping the pressure on Westminster, as
Ella Rusick got two shots off in the first seven minutes of play, but was unable to find the back of the net. Rusick stayed persistent and fired an absolute rocket from just outside the box for her fourth goal of the season. Ella's four goals lead the Trailblazers as well as the Big Sky Conference thus far.
Jocelyn Wright recorded an assist on the goal, adding to her most productive night of the young 2026 season.
Westminster would get a goal back a few minutes later after a deflection off of the drawn out UT goalie led to an open rebound to close the gap to 3-1, but Utah Tech maintained the lead to the final whistle, capturing their first win of the 2026 season.
NUMBERS TO KNOW
Utah Tech outshot Westminster 15-10, posting double digit shots for the second consecutive match.
7 different Trailblazers recorded a shot.
Elle Rafajko played all 90 minutes, recording her first Trailblazer win.
19 different Trailblazers recorded double digit minutes.
NEXT UP
Utah Tech will host Portland for a Sunday matinee match at 11 a.m. MST at Greater Zion Stadium as part of a soccer double header, concluding with the men hosting Pacific at 8 p.m. MST.
