BACK IN ACTION
No. 25 Utah State soccer (16-1-4, 7-1-3 MW) begins postseason play this week as it travels to San Diego, California, for the Mountain West Tournament. The 2-seed Aggies will play 3-seed Colorado State in the semifinal round on Wednesday, Nov. 6, at 5 p.m. (MT). The winner will go on to face the winner of 1-seed Boise State and 4-seed San Diego State in the championship match on Saturday, Nov. 9, at 7 p.m. (MT). All games will be played at the SDSU SportsDeck.  
 
FOLLOW ALONG
Both of this week's matches can be streamed for free on the Mountain West Network. Fans can also follow along with statistics via Statbroadcast, with stream and stat links available at www.utahstateaggies.com. 
 
CHAMPIONSHIP REMATCH
Wednesday's matchup will be a rematch of last year's Mountain West title game between Utah State and Colorado State. In that one, 2-seed USU beat 4-seed Colorado State 1-0 on a 78th minute goal by forward Kate Christian to win the title and secure a spot in the NCAA Tournament. 
 
ALL-MOUNTAIN West ACCOLADES
• A program-record seven Utah State players earned All-Mountain West accolades this season, including five first team honors and two second team honors. First team honorees included senior forward Bizzy Arevalo, graduate midfielder Alex Day, graduate defender Kylie Olsen, senior defender Kaitlyn Richins and junior forward Tess Werts. Second team honorees include graduate goalkeeper Cora Brendle and sophomore midfielder Summer Diamond. 
 
• Manny Martins was named the Mountain West Coach of the Year for the second-straight season. He is just the third coach to ever earn the honor in back-to-back seasons. 
 
• Richins was named the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year.
 
• Brendle was named the Mountain West Newcomer of the Year. 
 
• Four Utah State players were named to the Mountain West All-Newcomer team, including Brendle and the freshman forward trio of Ellie Hendrix, Austin Miller and Mia Mullenmeister. This is the first time USU has ever had more than one player recognized on the all-newcomer team.
 
EARLIER THIS SEASON
Utah State and Colorado State played earlier this season in Fort Collins, a 1-1 draw on October 13. The Aggies scored first in the 19th minute on a goal from junior forward Tess Werts. The Rams answered to even things up with a 30th minute goal from Avery Vander Ven. USU outshot the rams 16-5 in the contest, including a 9-3 advantage in the second half, but neither side was able to get a second goal on the board. 
 
ONE LOSS CLUB
Utah State is one of just 11 teams in the NCAA with a single loss this season, while no unbeaten teams remain. The team's .857 winning percentage ranks sixth nationally. 
 
BUILDING SOMETHING SPECIAL
• On October 30, it was announced that head coach Manny Martins has signed an extension that will keep him in Logan through the 2027 season. 
• Martins, the 2023 and 2024 Mountain West Coach of the Year, has built the Aggies into a powerhouse during his four years in Logan. As the head coach at USU, he has a 51-20-16 (.678) record, including a 26-10-8 (.682) mark in conference games. In the three years prior to his arrival, the team won just 16 total games. 
• Martins' career winning percentage of .678 ranks second-best in Mountain West Conference history, behind only BYU's Jennifer Rockwood's .739 from 1999-2010.
 
MW TOURNAMENT HISTORY
This is Utah State's fourth-straight trip to the Mountain West Tournament, and its seventh time overall since joining the league in 2013. Last season as a 2-seed, the Aggies earned their first-ever MW Tournament title, defeating Colorado State in the final match. In total, USU is 5-4-2 in the tourney. 
 
REWRITING THE RECORD BOOKS
With still three games left in the regular season, this year's Aggie squad has already etched its name in the record books in several different categories. 
                • 1st all-time with 58 goals (previous record was 40 in 2007)
                • 1st all-time with 59 assists (previous record was 34 in 2021 and 2007)
                • 1st all-time with 175 points (previous record was 114 in 2007)
                • 1st all-time with 13 shutouts (previous record was 11 in 2011 and 2013)
                • 1st all-time with 176 shots on goal (previous record was 165 in 2002)
                • T-1st all-time with 16 wins (previous record was 15 in 2011)
                • 2nd all-time with a 0.62 GAA (record is 0.55 in 2012) 
 
THAT'S WERTS UP
• Utah State junior forward Tess Werts is having a dominant statistical season, currently leading the team and ranking second in the conference in total points with 23, coming on eight goals and seven assists.
• Her eight goals rank third in the MW, while her eight assists rank fourth. 
• Prior to this season, Werts had totaled four total goals and five assists in two seasons.
 
IN THE POLLS
• Utah State returned to the United Soccer Coaches Poll last week and enters this week ranked No. 25. The Aggies have now spent eight weeks ranked this season.
• USU's ranking of No. 7 on Sept. 17 was tied for the highest a USU team in any sport has ever been ranked, equaling the men's basketball team's No. 7 ranking in 1960. This is also the third-highest ranking ever by a Mountain West soccer team, and the highest since 2012. 
• The Aggies are currently No. 18 in RPI. 
 
SPREADING THE WEALTH
• One major key to Utah State's high-powered offense is the number of players who can score. USU currently ranks second in the nation with 19 different players recording goals this year. 14 different players have scored at least twice and 10 players have scored at least three times this year.
• Against San José State in what was just the 11th game of the season, Utah State set a new program record for most assists in a season with its 35th helper of the year.
• 17 USU players have recorded assists this year, as the team has totaled 56. 
 
AGGIE DOMINATION
• Along with a stellar 16-1-4 record this year, the Aggies have been one of the most dominant teams in the country. USU has out-scored opponents by a combined score of 58-13. This ranks as the third-best scoring differential in the nation. 
• Utah State's scoring differential this season (+45) is greater than the previous program record for goals in a season (40).
 
AGGIE IRONWOMAN
With the 89th appearance of her career coming against New Mexico on Oct. 6, graduate defender Kylie Olsen became the most tenured Aggie of all time, breaking the program record for appearances in a career. The previous record was held by Kami Warner, who played 88 matches from 2017-21. Olsen has now played 96 games, while graduate defender Alysia Butters now ranks second all-time with 93 games played. 
 
SHUT 'EM DOWN
• While allowing just 13 total goals this season, the Aggie defense has posted 13 shutouts. Going back to last season, USU has held 21 of its past 33 opponents scoreless. 
• Going back to the 2022 season, 22 of the past 36 games against Mountain West opponents have been shutouts as well.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
As a team, Utah State ranks nationally in the top 20 in several major statistical categories, including: goal differential (3rd, +45), scoring offense (5th - 2.76), winning percentage (6th - .857), points per game (6th - 8.33), assists per game (7th - 2.81), shutout percentage (14th - .619) and shots on goal per game (20th - 8.38).
 
AGGIES VS RAMS
• Sunday's contest will be the 16th all-time meeting between Utah State and Colorado. 
• The Aggies hold a 9-4-2 series advantage and are undefeated in the past seven meetings. 
• In neutral site contests, USU is 2-0-0 against Colorado State.