Women's Soccer Heads to Arizona for Two Matches

SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah women's soccer team heads south for its next two matches. Utah travels to Tucson and Tempe to face Arizona and Arizona State. Utah faces Arizona on Thursday before closing the trip on Sunday at Arizona State. 
 

 
Last Time Out
The Utes lost a tough match the last time they took to the field, which was Sunday. Utah controlled possession for 59 percent of the game, but Oregon scored in the 108' minute of the match to defeat Utah 1-0 in double-overtime. Utah tallied ten shots in the game against the Ducks. Utah's goalkeeper, Chelsea Peterson, tallied six saves in the match. 
 
Scouting Arizona
Under first-year head coach Becca Moros, the Arizona Wildcats enters the matchups this week with a mark of 3-12 on the season and 0-8 in Pac-12 play. The Wildcats are currently on a nine-match losing streak and are 2-5 when playing at Murphey Field at Mulcahy Soccer Stadium. Arizona has scored 12 goals this season while allowing 32. Opponents are averaging 17.4 shots per game against the Wildcats defense. Arizona's offense is led by Jill Aguilera, who has scored six goals this season and dished out one assist. She is the only player on the Wildcats roster who has scored more than one goal. Madison Goerlinger leads the team with four assists. Arizona has only used one goalkeeper this season in Hope Hisey. She has appeared in net for 1355 minutes and has a goals-against-average of 2.13. She has made 90 saves on the season. 
 
About Arizona State
The Sun Devils of Arizona State enter the weekend with a record of 8-7-2 overall and 0-6-2 in Pac-12 play. The Sun Devils have lost their last two matches. Arizona State has scored 34 goals this season while allowing 28. The Sun Devils are averaging 14.9 shots per game. Nicole Douglas leads the team with 35 points. She has scored 15 goals and dished out five assists. Douglas leads the Pac-12 in points and goals. Olivia Nguyen is second on the team with five goals. Eva van Deursen is third in the Pac-12 and leads the team with seven assists. Birta Gudlaugs has appeared in 15 games in net for the Sun Devils and has played 1277 minutes. She has a goal-against-average of 1.55 on the season with 57 saves. 
 
Last Year Against Arizona
Last season, the Utes hosted Arizona in the final home match of the spring season. Utah scored within 30 seconds of each other in the first half, the first by Courtney Talbot and the second by Taliana Kaufusi, the game-winner. Utah had seven shots on goal in the match. 
 
Last Year Against Arizona State 
Last season, Utah soccer's unshakable defense and a goal from Kaylee Coatney guided the Utes to a 1-0 upset over the No. 17-ranked Arizona State Sun Devils at Ute Field. Utah limited the Arizona State offense for the majority of the game and despite a sequence of shots on goal in the last few minutes.
 
All-Time Against Arizona
The Utes are 8-10-1 all-time against the Wildcats of Arizona and are 4-5-0 when playing on the road. Over the last three matches, Utah is 1-1-1 against the Wildcats. During the 2007 season, Utah defeated Arizona, 2-1, for the program's 150th program win. 
 
All-Time Against Arizona State
The Utes are 6-5-3 all-time against the Sun Devils. Five of those wins have come in Salt Lake City. Utah will be looking for its second win in Tempe. Since the 2015 season, the Utes have not lost to Arizona State and hold a mark of 3-0-3 in those six meetings. Last year's meeting had Utah defeating then-No. 17 Arizona State 1-0 at Ute Field. 
 
Pearson Scores Her First Career Goal 
Last Thursday night against Oregon State, Brianna Pearson did something she had never done before in her collegiate career. She picked up her first collegiate goal. Her goal came in the 40' minute of the match and tied up the contest at 1-1. Besides being her first goal, it was the first point of her career. 
 
Talbot Continues to Shine
Junior captain Courtney Talbot continues to shine on the field this season for the Utes. She has set career-highs in goals (4) and points (9). Her fourth goal of the season came in the 41' minute against then-No. 3 UCLA. Talbot is one of two players with four goals on the season for Utah. Her nine points lead the team. 
 
Closing in on Top 6 Single Season Saves
Sophomore Chelsea Peterson has tallied 72 saves this season. She is 22 saves away from tying for sixth place for saves in a single season. Hannah Turpen tallied 94 saves during the 2010 season for the sixth-most all-time for the Utes. With three regular-season games remaining, how many saves can Peterson rack up?
 
Next Up
After the trip to Arizona, the Utes return to Ute Field for Senior Day. Utah will face Colorado on Friday, November 5, in the final regular-season game of the year. First kick is set for 3 p.m. MT, and the contest will air on the Pac-12 Networks.