Soccer Heads to LA for a Pair of Matches

SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah women's soccer team heads to Los Angeles for a pair of matches against ranked teams. Utah will square off with No. 3 UCLA at 8 p.m. MT on Thursday night before closing the trip with No. 11 USC at 3 p.m. MT. 
 

 
Last Time Out
The last time the Utes took to the pitch was on Sunday, October 3, when they faced Washington. The Utes and Huskies played to a 1-1 double-overtime draw. After trailing at halftime, Utah scored in the 54' minute of the match when Taliana Kaufusi scored her fourth goal of the season. Kylee Geis picked up the assist on the goal. Utah tallied 19 shots in the game. 
 
Scouting UCLA
UCLA enters the matchup with the Utes with a record of 10-0-1 and 2-0-1 in conference play. The Bruins are coming off a 4-3 overtime victory over Arizona State. UCLA trailed 3-1 to Arizona State before scoring the final three goals of the match. After playing Oregon to a 0-0 draw in the Pac-12 Opener, UCLA has won its last two games. UCLA is averaging 2.18 goals per game and is only allowing 0.45 on the season. Mia Fishel leads the team with nine goals scored this season. Fishel is second in the Pac-12 in goals scored. Lauren Brzykcy has started and appeared in all 11 games for UCLA. He has a goals-against-average of 0.39 and tallied 37 saves. In her 11 matches, she has added a Pac-12 high seven shutouts. As a team, UCLA allows 0.44 goals per game, the seventh-best mark in the NCAA. 
 
Scouting USC
Entering this weekend of Pac-12 play, the Trojans hold a record of 8-2-0 on the season and 3-0-0 in Pac-12 play. The Trojans have won eight in a row, and during this streak, having outscored their opponents, 25-5. USC will host Colorado before hosting the Utes on Sunday. USC is 2-1 when playing at home this season. The Trojans are averaging 2.60 goals per game while only allowing 0.90. Croix Bethune leads the team in scoring as she has scored seven goals this season. Penelope Hocking is second on the team with six goals. Anna Smith is the only goalie to play for the Trojans this season. She has tallied 36 saves and has four shutouts. 
 
Knocking off a Ranked USC Team
During the 2021 spring season, the Trojans of USC came to Salt Lake City for a conference matchup with the Utes. This was the fifth straight match for the Utes against a ranked opponent on the season. The Utes came away with a 2-0 upset of No. 14 USC. It was one of two upsets on the season for Utah, with the second one coming on April 9 against Arizona State. 
 
Escobedo Lifts the Utes Past the Trojans 
Last season when the Trojans came to Ute Field, Anna Escobedo had a career-day for Utah. She had her first multi-goal game of her career. She came off the bench had had two shots on goal, and scored both in 38 minutes of action to lift the Utes past then-No. 14 Trojans. This season, USC will be ranked No. 12 when the teams meet in Los Angeles. 
 
Upsetting UCLA in 2016
The last time the Utes came away with a victory against UCLA was on October 30, 2016, when Utah shut out the Bruins 2-0 at Ute Field. Katie Rogers and Hailey Skolmoski scored for the Utes in the game, while the Utes July Mathias tallied five saves in the shutout. Utah's Eden Jacobsen was a member of the squad that defeated the Bruins. 
 
Playing Ranked Teams in 2021
This weekend's trip to Los Angeles will mark the third and fourth time the Utes have matched up with a Top 25 opponent this season. Utah is currently 0-1-1 against Top 25 teams. The first matchup came against then-No. 22 BYU at Ute Field, where Utah and BYU tied 0-0. Utah then dropped a 3-0 decision to then-No. 10 Stanford. UCLA is currently the first top-five team Utah has played this season, and this will be the first time playing ranked teams in back-to-back matches.
 
Kaufusi Career-Season
In her sophomore season, Taliana Kaufusi is having a career season. She leads the Utes with four goals scored in 12 games. She now has five goals in her career. Kaufusi is still looking for her first multi-goal contest as a Ute. On the season, she has 11 shots on goal. 
 
Team Academic Award
On September 23, the Utah women's soccer team continued its off-field academic success. They earned the United Soccer Coaches Team Academic Award for the 12th-consecutive season and the 20th overall award since the award began in 1996. Utah was one of eight schools in the Pac-12 to receive this honor, and the Utes GPA of 3.70 was the highest of Pac-12 schools on the list. 
 
Next Up
Following the two games in Los Angeles, the Utes come home to open a three-game homestand. Utah returns home to face California on October 15 at 7 p.m. Utah concludes the homestand with Oregon State on October 21 and Oregon on October 24.