(Logan, UT - Aug 29, 2026) – Utah Tech women's soccer hits the road to begin their month with a battle looming against the Pac-12 preseason favorite, Utah State Aggies, on Thursday. 

REGULAR SEASON: MATCH 7
Who | Utah Tech (3-2-1, 0-0-0 Big Sky) at Utah State (3-1-1, 0-0-0 Pac-12)
When | Thursday, Sept. 3 at 7:30 p.m. MST
Where |Chuck & Gloria Bell Soccer Field, Logan, UT.
Watch | Youtube
Stats | Live Stats
Social Media | Instagram - X - #UtahTechisHere - #BigSkyWSOC

LAST TIME OUT
Utah Tech women's soccer got two second half goals to defeat the University of Utah, 2-1, on Sunday night, for the program's first power conference victory in the D-1 era.

After a scoreless first half, the Utes were able to break the tie, getting on the board just 13 seconds into the second half. However, Utah Tech responded instantly as Lexi Nelson set up Abby Olsen on the left side for an absolute strike that found the back of the net on the right side, just 38 seconds after the Utes took the lead.

After some back and forth play, Utah Tech was able to get out in transition on a counter play where Lataya Brost spun free from a defender and sent a stretch pass up to Jocelyn Wright, who fired one past the keeper to give UT a 2-1 advantage.

The Utes increased their pressure the rest of the way, but the Utah Tech backline and Rafajko held strong to secure the win. Utah took 28 total shots and only 11 were on goal, as UT's backline had many blocked shots.

RAFAJKO EARNS BIG SKY DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Utah Tech junior goalkeeper Elle Rafajko was named Big Sky Defensive Player of the Week, the conference announced Tuesday.

Elle had a stellar week, recording 11 total saves while helping the Trailblazers to a 2-0-0 record. 

On Aug 27 versus UC Riverside, Rafajko stopped both shots on target from the Highlanders and recorded her first career shutout at Utah Tech. UT's backline allowed just two of the seven shots to reach the junior keeper, and she was right there to stop both of them and kept UCR at bay.

On Aug 30, Rafajko was under heavy fire against the Utes, recording 9 total saves en route to a 2-1 victory. Utah had 28 shots but just 11 were on target, thanks to the Trailblazer backline being stout yet again.
Elle's nine saves were tied for 6th most in program history in a single game, last done in 2025.

AWARE OF THE AGGIES
Utah State enters Thursday night's match having last played on Thursday, Aug. 27, where they also defeated Utah. The 1-0 victory was the third consecutive win, and third consecutive shutout for the Aggies. The win streak comes on the heels of a 2-2 draw versus Michigan and a 2-0 loss to nationally ranked Kansas. 

Junior forward Ellie Hendrix was named Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week, while sophomore goalkeeper Ivy Nystrom was named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week for last week's play. Hendrix, a native of St. George scored a pair of game-winning goals, the team's only two goals of the week in the set of 1-0 wins. Nystrom earned a pair of clean sheets in net in what were the second and third appearances and starts of her college career.

Utah State, fresh off of three-straight Mountain West Tournament championships, was picked to win the Pac-12 in its inaugural season as a member of the conference by the league's coaches. Additionally, three Aggies were selected to the Pac-12 Preseason Impact List. The Utah State representatives on the Pac-12 Preseason Impact List include junior defender Kaeda Wilson and the sophomore midfield duo of Kunie Hirai and Mia Lopez. USU returns seven starters and 13 letterwinners from its 2025 squad. 

SERIES HISTORY
This will be the first all-time meeting between the two programs. Utah Tech is 1-7-0 all-time versus Pac-12 opponents, but the conference has a new look with just two original members remaining in Washington State and Oregon State. 

2025 SEASON RECAP
Utah Tech finished the 2025 campaign at 8-7-5 (4-4-2 WAC) good enough for a 3rd place finish with a semifinal defeat in the WAC Tournament semifinal in their final season as members of the Western Athletic Conference. This was the 4th straight conference tournament appearance for UT. The Trailblazers tallied a program-record eight All-WAC Selections and freshman forward Jocelyn Wright was named the WAC Freshman of the Year. 

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.