(Spokane, WA - Aug 26, 2026) – Utah Tech men's soccer hits the road for a Thursday night match against power conference opponent, Gonzaga. 

REGULAR SEASON: MATCH 3
Who | Utah Tech (0-2-0, 0-0-0 MWC) at Gonzaga (0-1-1, 0-0-0 Pac-12)
When | Thursday, Aug. 27 at 7 p.m. PST / 8 p.m. MST
Where | Luger Field, Spokane, WA
Watch | Youtube
Stats | Live Stats
Social Media | Instagram - X - #UtahTechisHere - #MWMSOC

LAST TIME OUT
Utah Tech men's soccer fell to Pacific after a second half surge by the Tigers, 3-2, in their 2026 home opener. 

In the 16th minute, the Trailblazers drew a penalty in the box, leading to a penalty kick opportunity. Sophomore midfielder, Zach Taylor, stepped up and put it past the Tigers' goalkeeper to give UT an early 1-0 lead. The goal was Taylor's first of his collegiate career, and the Trailblazers' first as a team in 2026.

Continuing the attack, Jacob Cinelli was able to regain possession after a goalie deflection popped the ball up into the air, and zig-zagged his way between four Pacific defenders before getting a beautiful shot off and finding the back of the net to push the Trailblazer lead to two. The goal was also Cinelli's first collegiate score.

Pacific came out strong in the second half, scoring in the 51st minute. Just over two minutes later, Pacific got the equalizer from Fateh Singh, knotting the score at two apiece. 

In a hard-fought, physical game, where ten total cautions were given out, both sides traded blows and scoring chances. In the 81st minute, Pacific was awarded a penalty kick after a confirmed VAR review of a foul in the box. Pacific's Massimo Erfani got it past UT's keeper, to put the Tigers ahead for good, 3-2.

PREVIEWING THE GONZAGA GAME
The Bulldogs will enter Thursday night's match looking for their first win after two matches, just like the Trailblazers. In their previous match, the Zags hosted the number one team in the country in Washington. Gonzaga's upset bid came up short as they fell 4-0. 

Three Zags players were named to the Pac-12 Preseason Impact List in midfielder Dylan Cantafio, forward Drew Pedersen, and goalkeeper Chema Preciado. Pedersen returns for the Zags after leading the Bulldogs offensively in 2025, finishing the season with seven goals, four assists and 18 points in 15 appearances. Preciado returns in goal after starting all 15 of his appearances in 2025 and logging 1,341 minutes. He finished the season with 62 saves while facing 188 shots and recorded four shutouts. Gonzaga was predicted to finish fifth in the Pac-12 preseason poll. 

The Zags are looking to improve upon a 5-8-3 record in 2025, including a 2-5-2 record in WCC play. Head coach Chris McGaughey was the interim coach for the Bulldogs last year and a day before the final match, the interim tag was lifted as McGaughney was named head coach. 

SERIES HISTORY
This will be the fifth all-time meeting between the two programs, with the Trailblazers holding a 2-1-1 record. Last year, UT and Gonzaga met in St George where the match ended in a 1-1 draw. Both matches played in Spokane have ended in shutouts, with both teams being on the winning side of one. 

TRAILBLAZERS PICKED SIXTH IN COACHES' POLL
Utah Tech men's soccer was selected to finish 6th in the 2026 Mountain West Conference Preseason Coaches Poll, and had three players selected to the 2026 Mountain West Conference Preseason Watchlist. 

Utah Tech was slotted just behind Air Force, tallying 7 total points in the preseason poll. Grand Canyon and San Jose State both tied for the lead with 22 points, but the Lopes outnumbered the Spartans in first place votes, 4-2, to claim the honors of being the preseason favorite.

Goalkeeper Luca Campoli, forward Samir Cuevas, and defender Tanner Dutra were selected to the 2026 Mountain West Conference Preseason Watchlist.

Campoli is coming off of a strong freshman campaign in 2025 where he made 12 appearances, with 11 of them coming as starts. Luca recorded 37 saves and recorded three wins, including two shutouts. Both shutouts recorded by Campoli came against now conference opponents in Air Force and UNLV. In the seven conference games Luca played in last season, he posted a 3-1-3 record while allowing just eight total goals.

Samir had a productive 2025 season when on the field for UT. In just six games, Cuevas recorded three assists and six shots on goal. This is the second year in a row that Cuevas has earned preseason recognition, as he was named to the Preseason All-WAC team in 2025. Samir enters his senior season at Utah Tech tied for seventh in game winning goals, with three.

Tanner Dutra was a solid contributor for the Trailblazers in 2025. Starting in all 17 games, he scored two goals and assisted once. Tanner played all 90 minutes in every game except one. Tanner led the team in minutes played a season ago (1,509) and helped the Trailblazers record four shutouts on the season.

2025 SEASON RECAP
Utah Tech is looking to improve upon a 2025 season where they posted a 4-7-6 overall record, and 3-1-3 in conference play. UT saw themselves in first place in conference at times, and ended the regular season as the two seed and fell to three seeded Grand Canyon in the semifinal round. 

The Trailblazers earned seven All-WAC postseason selections, including returning goalkeeper, Luca Campoli being named Goalkeeper of the Year, and head coach Jonny Broadhead being named Coach of the Year. Two All-Freshman honorees return for UT this season in Jacob Cinelli and Stetson Coy.

RETURNING PRODUCTION
Utah Tech returns just nine players from a year ago. Just five of the nine returners appeared in over half of UT's matches last season. All three of the players nominated for the 2026 Mountain West Conference Preseason Watchlist return after earning postseason all-conference awards last season.

A player that was not named to the conference preseason watchlist that had a great season last year was junior forward Stetson Coy. Coy appeared in 14 matches, making five starts, and scored his first career goal in a 2-1 victory over then ranked No. 21 California Baptist. Stetson made the WAC All-Freshman Team along with Campoli and Jacob Cinelli. 

NEW FACES ON THE PITCH
The Trailblazers welcome 19 newcomers to the roster for the 2026 season, including 11 freshmen. 

HELLO MOUNTAIN WEST SOCCER
While Utah Tech athletics transitioned most sports to the Big Sky Conference, both baseball and men's soccer found a home in the new look Mountain West Conference. This will be the inaugural season of Mountain West men's soccer, and Utah Tech will begin conference play with a road match at Air Force on Saturday, Sept. 26. All UT men's soccer home matches and conference matches can be streamed on Mountain West Plus.