Back in Action
Utah State soccer (4-6-1, 1-1-0 MW) returns to Chuck and Gloria Bell Field this week for its first dose of home Mountain West Conference action. The Aggies play host to Colorado State on Thursday, Sept. 28, at 5 p.m., before taking on Wyoming on Sunday, Oct. 1, at 1 p.m.
 
Follow Along
Both of this week's matches will be streamed free on Mountain West Network. Fans can follow along with the contests via live stats online, with stream and stat links available at www.utahstateaggies.com. 
 
Series History
• Utah State and Colorado State have met up 12 times in a series which dates back to 2013.
• The Aggies are 7-4-1 in the series, and have won three of the past four meetings. When the teams met last year in Fort Collins, the match ended in a 2-2 draw.
• Utah State and Wyoming have met up 19 times in a series which dates back to 1996.
• The Aggies lead the series 9-8-2, with wins in two of the past three outings. When the teams met last year, Wyoming earned a 2-1 win in Laramie.
 
Scouting the Rams
• Colorado State enters Thursday's contest with a 6-2-2 record, and is off to a 1-0-1 start to MW play with a win over Nevada and a draw versus UNLV. 
• The Rams have been led in scoring this season by sophomore forward Olivia Fout, who has scored a league-best seven goals. Junior midfielder Avery Vander Ven leads the squad with four assists.  
 
Scouting the Cowgirls
• Wyoming enters the week 4-3-3 overall and is still in search of its first MW win after suffering losses to UNLV and Nevada last week.
• The Cowgirls have been led in scoring this season by sophomore midfielder Alyssa Glover, who has five goals on the year. Graduate midfielder Jamie Tatum leads the squad with three assists.  
 
Locking Things Down
• Utah State has become known for its strong defenses under head coach Manny Martins. In each of Martins' first two seasons, USU held opponents under one goal per game. 
• This season, USU opponents are averaging just 1.09 goals per game (fourth in the MW). The Aggies have held nine of their 11 opponents to a goal or less, including seven-straight entering this week.
 
Dishing It Out
After entering the season as USU's second-leading returning scorer from 2022, sophomore midfielder Kaylie Chambers has emerged as the squad's top facilitator this season with a team-best three assists. She has already surpassed her assist total from last season (2). 
 
Freshman Phenom
• Utah State freshman midfielder Summer Diamond is off to a strong start to her collegiate career, currently leading the Aggies with three goals. The native of Uintah, Utah, also leads the team with 15 shots, including seven on goal. 
• She now looks to become the first USU freshman with more than three goals in a season since Sara Taylor had four in 2018. 
 
At the Peak
• With the non-conference portion of its season in the rearview, Utah State now enters Mountain West play for the remainder of the regular season. 
• The Aggies went 5-3-3 in league play last season, finishing tied for fourth. 
• USU is a combined 11-8-5 in conference matches under Martins.
 
Home Field Advantage
Chuck and Gloria Bell Field has been one of the Mountain West's most consistent home field advantages in recent years. Under Martins, the Aggies have lost just five of 27 home games, posting a 17-5-5 record.
 
Down Goes No. 1
• On Sept. 16, Utah State stunned the unanimous No. 1 team in the country, earning a 1-0 win over in-state rival BYU. 
• In front of a record-setting crowd of 2,013 at Chuck and Gloria Bell Field, the Aggies earned what was just the second win over a No. 1-ranked opponent by any team in Utah State history.
• Sophomore midfielder Kaylie Chambers split a pair of defenders in the 51st minute with a pass to freshman midfielder Summer Diamond, who rocketed a left-footed shot into the bottom corner of the net past the diving reach of the BYU keeper for the game's only goal.
 
Walton Earns National Recognition
• After helping USU post a shutout against the nation's third-highest scoring offense in USU's win against No. 1 BYU, graduate goalkeeper Diera Walton was named the College Soccer News National Player of the Week for the week ending Sept. 17. 
• Walton recorded a season-high six saves in the match. This was the 23rd clean sheet of her career, making her the program's all-time shutout leader. 
 
In The Polls
In the Mountain West preseason poll, Utah State was picked to finish fifth in the league with 91 points. Colorado State was picked seventh with 53 points, while Wyoming was slated first with 100 points and four first-place votes.