(St George, UT - Sept 5, 2026) – Utah Tech women's soccer will wrap up the home portion of their non-conference schedule by welcoming Cal State Northridge to Greater Zion Stadium Thursday night.
REGULAR SEASON: MATCH 9
Who | CSUN (1-4-2, 0-0-0 Big West) at
Utah Tech (4-3-1, 0-0-0 Big Sky)
When | Thursday, Sept 10 at 7 p.m. MST
Where | Greater Zion Stadium, St George, UT.
Watch |
ESPN+
Stats |
Live Stats
Social Media |
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LAST TIME OUT
Utah Tech women's soccer got a goal from
Lataya Brost in the 87th minute to secure the program's first ever win against the Pac-12 Conference on Sunday morning.
It was a quick start for Colorado State as they were able to get the match' first six shots. Utah Tech goalkeeper and reigning Big Sky Defender of the Week,
Elle Rafajko, was able to stop the one shot out of six that was on target, en route to three first half saves.
The second half was much more even in terms of possession and scoring chances. Both teams had great opportunities, but both teams' backlines and keepers remained solid and kept the game scoreless.
In the 87th minute, Utah Tech was able to build out of their own end as sophomore
Ava Talaeai was able to find freshman midfielder
Gianna Tomasello streaking down the right wing. Tomasello crossed one toward the middle of the box where redshirt junior
Lataya Brost was posted up and was able to volley the pass into the back of the net, beating the goalie to the left side of the goal.
The Trailblazers were able to weather the last minute push from the Rams, and held on for the 1-0 shutout victory.
MEET THE MATADORS
CSUN comes into Greater Zion Stadium off of a 2-2 draw against UNLV on Sunday. The Matadors came back from a deficit twice to earn the draw.
Junior defender Sydney Lipkin was one-of-11 placed on the Big West Preseason Coaches' Team. So far this season, Lipkin has started in all seven matches and played every possible minute.
In the 2026 Big West Preseason Coaches' Poll, CSUN received 58 points to take eighth place. A season ago, the Matadors were picked to finish ninth in the preseason poll, only to defy those expectations with a remarkable run to a Big West crown.
SERIES HISTORY
This will be the second all-time meeting between the two programs as Utah Tech won the first match last season 2-1 in Northridge.
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.
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.
