Monday, November 30, 2009

The Final Four


It is that time of the year again...time for the most exciting Division I College Soccer Games of the year! The original pool of 64 teams has been narrowed down to just four. Here is what the semifinal games will look like:

Stanford (24-0-0) vs. UCLA (21-2-1)

Notre Dame (21-3-1) vs. North Carolina (21-3-1)

Both games will be held this Friday, December 4 in College Station, TX. Stanford and UCLA will kick off at 5:30pm ET and Notre Dame and UNC will begin at 8:30pm ET. Both games will be televised live on ESPN2/ESPNU.

For more information about the teams and the games, click here!


The Utes are back from Thanksgiving with friends and family and are about to start hitting the books...just 2 more weeks of class until finals! The team finished up team workouts for the fall last week and is now on their own for the remainder of the semester and the break. Stay tuned to find out how finals are going and what all the gals will be doing over Christmas Break!

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

It's RIVALRY WEEK In Utah!


Rivalry week is one of the most exciting weeks of the whole year in Utah! The Utah/BYU Rivalry is historically one of the most intense rivals in the entire nation. Few athletes are ever able to participate in such a big rivalry...combine that with college football and the energy can't be matched! On our campus, there are tons of events taking place this week: pep rallies, extra media events, and even the traditional 'hunt' for Cosmo The Cougar- a scavenger hunt on campus throughout the week will lead lucky students to find the nasty mascot from down south and claim a prize! Like we said...things get pretty crazy!

A great part of the rivalry is the opportunity to involve the whole community in a larger context than athletics. Each year, Utah and BYU compete in the Rivalry Week Food Drive. The goal is simply to collect as much food as possible to help those in need. Check out the video from Head Football Coach Kyle Wittingham to learn more about the food drive and how you can donate.

It's a great week to be a Utahn...it doesn't get any better than this! The game kicks off at 3pm this Saturday in Provo, UT. The game will be televised on CBS College Sports and The Mountain. For more details on the game, check out the official website.

GO UTES!!

Monday, November 23, 2009

Congratulations Real Salt Lake!!


After coming back from a 1-0 deficit in the second half and remaining scoreless in two overtime periods, Real Salt Lake came out on top in the shootout. Real topped the Galaxy 5-4 in the shootout (which went to 7 rounds!). This title is the first in club history for Real. Check out the MLS official website for more details on the game!

Goalkeeper Nick Rimando was named the MLS Cup MVP. Rimando played a very solid came, coming up huge in the shootout with 2 great saves.

Check out all of the highlights and watch the shootout by clicking here!

Congratulations, Real! It has been a great season, the best post-season imaginable, and fun the whole time!

Saturday, November 21, 2009

NCAA Tournament Update



The NCAA Tournament is becoming extremely exciting as the Elite Eight has been decided. Here is the schedule for the next round of games that will take place next weekend:


Stanford (23-0-0) vs. Boston (18-3-2)
Portland (21-1-0) vs. UCLA (20-2-1)


Wake Forest (16-5-2) vs. [Winner of UNC vs. Maryland]
Notre Dame (20-3-1) vs. Florida St. (19-4-1)

The 4 winners of these games will advance to the Final Four! For more information, brackets, etc. visit the NCAA Official Website!


Exciting day here in Salt Lake...Utah Football hosts SDSU in their last home game of the season (and Senior Day!) at 2pm and Men's Basketball will take on SUU this evening at 7pm. Women's Basketball and Volleyball are on the road and will compete today as well. Good Luck to everyone!

GO UTES!

Friday, November 20, 2009

Real Salt Lake Takes on LA Galaxy in the 2009 MLS Cup




What an exciting time for local fans! Our very own Real Salt Lake fought their way up from having a seemingly average season and entering the playoffs as a low seed to advancing to the finals. The LA Galaxy is a dominant team in the league, having reached the finals now 6 times and are also the champions for two years running. However, Real is not to be discounted...during the teams' two meetings in the regular season, one game ended in a draw and the other was won by Real. Here are the details of the game....be sure to watch and support our very own team! A special good luck from all of us here at Utah Women's Soccer!


MLS CUP 2009
LOS ANGELES GALAXY vs REAL SALT LAKE
QWEST FIELD, Seattle, Wash.
November 22, 2009, 5:30 p.m. PT (ESPN; Galavision) / KICKOFF 5:55 p.m. PT

Click here for more info about the game and the teams!

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

PK Shootout...Brilliant tactics or Loony Tunes?

Okay, we are still celebrating here in Salt Lake City as our own Real Salt Lake has made it to the MLS Cup final on Sunday after defeating the Chicago Fire in a dramatic penalty kick shootout...the final will be exciting this weekend as RSL takes on Landon Donovan, David Beckham and the Los Angeles Galaxy.

Which brings to mind this very bizarre PK shootout that happened recently between the University of Hartford and Stonybrook. What would you do if the goalie started doing cartwheels?

Watch!

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Heartbreaking Loss in 2OT Cuts the Season Short

After maintaining a 1-0 lead from a great scrappy goal from Erin Dalley, SDSU tied the game with less than ten minutes to play. The overtime periods were hard fought, and fatigue began to set in. SDSU ended up scoring with just 2 minutes left in the second overtime. For more notes on the game, visit our official website.

It is a very strange and sad feeling to have the season end so quickly. The team this year experienced many ups and downs and continued growing and progressing up until the very last game. Most of the girls will be thinking hard about what to do in order to improve themselves and the team next spring and next fall; the seniors will now be looking back on their years of college soccer. The seniors leaving the team will be greatly missed; and they are all moving forward to great things:


Jen Christoffers came from Arizona and has a solid member of the team for 5 years.Her quiet leadership and strong competitiveness have helped the team excel in practice and in games. Jen will be graduating this December with a degree in Family Studies.





Emalee Rogers has been a strong leader on the team for 5 years as well. Her leadership and confidence in the goal will be greatly missed. She will be graduating in the spring with a degree in Exercise and Sport Science and is planning to attend medical schoool; she is currently awaiting replies from her applications.






Kelly Isleib will graduate with a degree in Communications and is looking to join the Women's Professional League. Isleib has been a standout player on the team, in the conference, and in the nation for the past four years. Her one of a kind ball skills have put on a great show for players, fans, and coaches for 4 years here at Utah.






Thank you to everyone who supported the team this season! The team could not do it without the support of our friends, family, our great athletic department, donors, and fans. We look forward to seeing everyone in the near future...stay tuned in to the blog, our official website, facebook, and twitter pages throughout the off season to keep up on team news and events.


GO UTES

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Utah Beats TCU and Advances to Semifinals


The Utes got on the board in the 25th minute when Lauren Dudley assisted Kelly Isleib. Lauren Porter gave the Utes a 2-0 lead just ten minutes into the second half; Porter scored on a header from a free kick off the foot of Morgan Skeen. Although TCU snuck one in, the Utes struck back yet again when Erin Dalley blew by TCU defenders and goalie to seal the deal. The team ended up with a solid 3-1 victory.

The team will now take on San Diego State tomorrow at 12:00 pm at South Field. The winner of the game tomorrow will advance to the finals! The finals will be held on Saturday, November 7 at noon. If you can't make it to the game, watch it live online here.

For more details on the game including quotes and a box score please check out our official website.

GO UTES!

Four Utes Earn All-Conference Honors



Kelly Isleib, Erin Dalley, and Lauren Porter earned All MWC First Team honors last evening at the annual conference banquet and Lauren Hair earned a spot on the All MWC Second Team. Coach Manning commented, "We are always pleased to see our players rewarded for their performances when the team does well...all four players were extremely productive for us, especially in the conference season."

The team was looking classy at the banquet!


Don't forget, the Utes kick off against TCU in Provo today at 12:00pm. If you can't make it, click here to watch it live online!

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Tomorrow's Game Online

Courtesy of BYU, tomorrow's match will be streamed live online. So, if you can't make it to the game be sure to catch it on this website!

The team is off to the annual Conference Banquet tonight...stay tuned to find out who will be receiving honors this year!

Monday, November 2, 2009

MWC Tournament


The Mountain West Conference Tournament games are arguably the most intense, tightly fought games of the season. The winner of the this week's tournament receives an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. For almost every team in the conference, this is the 'do or die' part of the season...win or go home.

The #3 seeded Utes will take on #6 TCU Wednesday, November 4 at 12:00pm in Provo at South Field. The winner of this game will then take on #2 San Diego State Thursday at 12:00pm. Please visit our official website for more notes and details on the game.

Check out the rest of the bracket by clicking here!

We hope to see you all Wednesday afternoon...it's playoff time!!

GO UTES!


Sunday, November 1, 2009

Senior Day a Huge Success


Jen Christoffers, Emalee Rogers, and Kelly Isleib received special recognition before the game yesterday. All three seniors have proved to be great leaders on and off the field throughout their years at Utah. The last home game of their careers was a great success as the team took down Air Force 3-0. Jen Christoffers scored a goal, Kelly Isleib had an assist, and Emalee Rogers (usually a goalkeeper) got a chance at forward with her fully casted arm! Sophomore Erin Dalley tallied two impressive goals for the team as well.


The day was a very eventful one in addition to Senior Day. We stared off the morning with a great Alumni Reunion. We hung out in the new locker room, signed the new alumni wall, then played a fun competitive game of soccer. "Compo," a favorite shooting game among the team, eventually decided the winner of the Alum battle. It was great to see everyone and we appreciate all of our former players coming back to support the program.







Finally, what would Halloween be without some costumes?! Many kids as well as older fans showed off some awesome costumes at the game. We even had a parade! Half time then ended with a fun soccer relay.


Check out the video below for a quick
recap of all of yesterday's events!
Thanks to everyone who helped make yesterday a memorable one!

The MWC Tournament begins this Wednesday in Provo, Utah. Stay tuned for details on game times and opponents...we hope to see you all there!

GO UTES!