Utah State begins the 2013 season against Creighton on Friday, Aug. 23 at 4 p.m. at Chuck and Gloria Bell Soccer Field. This is the second-straight season that the Aggies and the Bluejays have met. Last season, USU and Creighton tied 1-1 in double overtime in Omaha. Returning senior forward Jennifer Flynn scored the only goal of the match, which was the match-tying goal late in the second half.
Series history vs. Creighton
When Utah State takes on Creighton on Friday, Aug. 23, head coach Heather Cairns will be taking on her old Bluejay squad. She was an assistant coach for Creighton from 1999-2002.
Utah brings back 17 returning letterwinners from last year’s team, including eight starters. As the Jays move to the Big East in 2013, Utah State will begin its first season as a member of Mountain West Conference. The Bluejays were 1-1 in their two exhibition matches last week, highlighted by a 2-1 comeback win over North Dakota State on Saturday, Aug. 17. As a unit, the Jays will rely on senior Lauren Cingoranelli to lead the offense and freshman goalkeeper Danielle Rice defensively.
Series history vs. UVU
Utah State holds a 4-1-0 overall series record against Utah Valley. Last season in Orem, the Aggies defeated the Wolverines in overtime, 2-1. Kendra Pemberton scored the golden goal in the 96th minute to give USU the win. Jade Tarver scored Utah State’s other goal in the match in the first half. The Wolverines have a very close connection with head coach Heather Cairns as head coach Brent Anderson and assistant coach Alyssa Lowry were former Aggie assistants. Lowry also played defense for USU.
Last time out
Junior midfielder Lexie Morgan scored the match’s only goal as the Utah State soccer team prevailed over Southern Utah in its only exhibition of the season, 1-0, in Cedar City, Utah, on Saturday.
The Aggies were able to up the pressure in the second half after a scoreless first half. After only four shots in the first half, USU broke out for nine in the second. Off the bench, freshman midfielder/forward Jessica Brooksby led the Aggies’ attack with three shots.
Utah State got on the board in the 62nd minute. From the defensive center midfielder position, Morgan kept dribbling past Thunderbird defenders and drilled the ball past SUU goalkeeper Tessa Christensen. Last season, Morgan was tied for fifth on the team in scoring with two goals and one assist for five points.
Sophomore Jeannie Woller started in goal for the Aggies, playing the first 45 minutes. Freshman Sara Cobb and redshirt freshman Natalie Stoven saw time in goal in the second half for the combined shutout.
The Aggies were able to get playing time for several new components, as well as many veteran players. Overall, 26 of the 32 players on USU’s roster saw time on Saturday.
Last season when the teams met, former Aggie Kendra Pemberton knocked in the lone goal to give Utah State a 1-0 win in the Aggies’ only exhibition of the season at Chuck and Gloria Bell Soccer Field.
GameTracker
Fans can follow all the Aggie home matches through the USU website via GameTracker, a free service, which updates play-by-play and statistics throughout the game.
On the pitch
Following the season and home opener against Creighton, the Aggies will host Utah Valley on Monday, Aug. 26, at Chuck and Gloria Bell Soccer Field at 4 p.m. After the match with the Wolverines, Utah State will take to the road to take on UTEP in El Paso, Texas, on Aug. 30 at 7 p.m. MT. The Aggies are 2-2-0 all-time against the Miners. The last time the team’s met was in Logan in 2012. On Aug. 19, 2012, USU defeated UTEP, 2-1.
Three named to the College Sports Madness Preseason Team
Three Utah State soccer players were named to the College Sports Madness Mountain West Conference Preseason Team.
After eight seasons in the Western Athletic Conference the Aggies will play their first season in the Mountain West this fall.
Senior forwards Mari Miyashiro and Jennifer Flynn and junior defender Taryn Rose earned first-team honors. All three earned all-WAC honors last season as Miyashiro earned first-team honors, while Flynn and Rose were named to the second team.
Flynn led the team in scoring in 2012 with seven goals and two assists for 16 points, while Miyashiro was tied for second with four goals and a career-high six assists. Rose was part of the Aggie defense that allowed only 13 goals last season for a 0.55 goals against average.
Captains
The Utah State squad has voted on a pair of captains for the 2013 season, including seniors Shay Haddow, Jennifer Flynn and junior Taryn Rose.
The new crew
There are 12 newcomers on the 2013 roster, including two transfers. Sophomore Katie Flynn , who is the sister of all-WAC forward Jennifer Flynn, joins the team this season as a transfer from Idaho State. Junior midfielder/forward Kelsey Burke came to Utah State from Foothill College. Utah State has 10 freshmen on the roster this season eight of which hail from the Beehive State.
Aggies tied for third in Preseason MW Poll
Utah State soccer was picked to finish in a tie for third with UNLV in the Mountain West Conference Preseason Poll, as voted on by the 11 Mountain West head women’s soccer coaches. The Aggies and Rebels were picked to finish third with 77 points.
Head coach Heather Cairns
In her 11th season at Utah State, Heather Cairns is the winningest coach in school history after recording her 27th career victory on Sept. 30, 2006, defeating Eastern Washington 1-0. In her 10 seasons at the helm of the Aggies, Cairns has compiled a 103-78-25 (.561) record passing former head coach Stacy Enos (1996-2000) who went 26-59 (.306) in five seasons with the Aggies.
Doug Hoffman is the assistant athletic director for Utah State University Athletic Media Relations.