No. 19 UW Finishes Road Trip At Utah
October 10, 2015 | Women's Soccer
SALT LAKE CITY – After earning a draw in Colorado on Friday, UW women's soccer will conclude its Rocky Mountain road trip against the Utah Utes on Sunday, Oct. 11.
“Every game is important in the Pac-12,” UW head coach Lesle Gallimore said. “On a road weekend, we want to pick up points. Utah has been playing great lately, but the thing for us is to be better than we were against Colorado. We have to be smarter, better with the ball from the get go.”
The Huskies are just the second team to escape Boulder without a loss this season after a 1-1 tie with the Buffaloes on Friday. Last weekend, the 19th-ranked Huskies (9-2-2, 2-1-1 Pac-12) swept UCLA and USC for the second time in program history. UW has gone unbeaten in 11 of its last 12 games, losing only at Arizona in the Huskies' Pac-12 opener.
Sophomore midfielder Shannon Simon leads the Huskies with six goals and four assists, which put her in the top-10 in the Pac-12 in both categories. Sophomore forward Kimby Keever scored her fourth goal of the season to lead the Huskies to a 1-1 tie against Colorado in the Huskies' last outing. She is tied with Amanda Perez for second-most goals scored this season for the Huskies.
Forward Kelcie Hedge has two goals and two assists and Rachel Wheeler has contributed two goals and three assists. Dominique Bond-Flasza has three assists and has also contributed one goal. Havana McElvaine has a goal and two assists and Sam Kokoska has one goal to round out the goal scorers thus far for the Huskies.
The Huskies have four shutouts in 2015, led by reigning Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week McKenzie Karas and senior goalkeeper Megan Kufeld, who is also the Huskies' all-time leader in career shutouts (20).
The Huskies and Utes have met eight times previously, with UW holding a 4-4-0 record all-time. The Huskies have won the last two meetings and four of the last five. The Huskies won in Salt Lake last year. Utah won the first three meetings all-time between the two schools. UW is 3-1-0 since the Utes joined the Pac-12 in 2011.
Utah (5-5-3, 2-2-0 Pac-12) is coming off a 1-0 loss to Washington St. on Friday. The Utes went on the road last weekend and beat Oregon St. and Oregon. Utah has struggled at home, posting a record of 1-4-1 at Ute Field and has yet to win a home conference game.
Natalie Vukic leads the Utes with three goals and three assists. Mariah Elmer has three goals, while Paola van der Veen and Taylor Slattery each have a goal and three assists. Lindsey Luke, last week's Pac-12 Goalkeeper of the Week, has four shutouts this season, including two last weekend against the Oregon schools.
The Huskies conclude their road trip at Utah on Sunday, Oct. 11, with kickoff set for 1 p.m. PT, 2 p.m. MT. Sunday's game will be shown on the Pac-12 Networks. In-game updates will also be provided on Twitter at @UW_WSoccer.
For more on UW women's soccer, follow the Huskies on Facebook and on Snapchat, Periscope, Twitter and Instagram at @UW_WSoccer.
