BACK IN ACTION
Utah State soccer (0-0-0, 0-0-0 MW) opens its 2025 campaign this week with a road contest in Pullman, Washington, against Washington State. The Aggies will face the Cougars (0-0-0, 0-0-0 WCC) on Thursday, Aug. 14, at 8 p.m. (MT), at WSU's Lower Soccer Field.
FOLLOW ALONG
Thursday's match can be streamed with a subscription on ESPN+. Fans can also follow along via StatBroadcast, with stream and stat links available at www.utahstateaggies.com.
THE CHAMPS ARE BACK
The 2024 campaign was a historic one for Utah State, as the Aggies repeated as Mountain West Tournament champions and earned a second-straight NCAA Tournament bid. USU won a program-record 18 games with just a single loss, going 18-1-5 overall and climbing as high as No. 7 in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 Poll. Utah State earned an 8-seed in the NCAA Tournament, hosting a tournament game for the first time in program history.
AGGIES IN SEASON OPENERS
Utah State is 13-13-3 all-time in season openers, and is undefeated in season openers under head coach Manny Martins with a 2-0-2 record. Last season, the Aggies opened the year with a 4-0 neutral site win over Pepperdine. This will be the first time since 2022 that USU has opened a season on the road.
MOUNTAIN WEST HONORS
• Several Aggies earned Mountain West postseason honors last year. Among those returning are first team selection Tess Werts and second team selection Summer Diamond.
• The sophomore forward trio of Ellie Hendrix, Austin Miller and Mia Mullenmeister were each named to the MW All-Newcomer Team following strong freshman campaigns in 2024.
• Manny Martins was named both the Mountain West and the United Soccer Coaches Pacific Region Coach of the Year for the second-straight season. He's just the second USU coach to earn conference coach of the year honors, and the first to do so in back-to-back seasons.
WATCH OUT
• Utah State was picked by the league's coaches to win the conference title, receiving 128 points and six first-place votes in the preseason poll. This is the first time the Aggies have been selected first since joining the MW.
• Three Aggies were named to the 2025 Mountain West Soccer Watch List - senior forwards Kaylie Chambers and Tess Werts, and junior midfielder Summer Diamond. The watch list replaces the preseason all-conference team that the league used in previous years.
REWRITING THE RECORD BOOK
Last year's Aggie squad literally rewrote the record book, breaking nearly every major record in program history, including wins (18), goals (62), assists (65), points (189), shots on goal (202), and shutouts (15). The team's 0.68 goals allowed average ranked second in program history.
MARTINS MAGIC
• Utah State head coach Manny Martins is the reigning back-to-back coach of the year for both the Mountain West and the Pacific Region.
• Martins has built the Aggies into a powerhouse during his five years in Logan. As the head coach at USU, he has a 53-20-17 (.683) 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 .683 ranks second-best in Mountain West Conference history, behind only BYU's Jennifer Rockwood's .739 from 1999-2010.
NEW YEAR, NEW FACES
• Utah State welcomes in 12 newcomers to this year's team, including three transfers and eight freshmen.
• Transfers include graduate defender Carli Conner (Colorado Mesa), senior goalkeeper Taylor Rath (Pepperdine) and junior goalkeeper Allee Grashoff (UC Riverside).
• Freshmen include Ivy Nystrom (Phoenix, Arizona), Summer Sofonia (Hyrum, Utah), Samantha Sellers (Highland, Utah), Abby Hironaka (Honolulu, Hawaii), Kunie Hirai (Boise, Idaho), Bentli Barrera (Hyrum, Utah), Hadli Barrera (Hyrum, Utah) and Capriel Winder (North Logan, Utah).
• The Aggies also welcome back sophomore defender Talia Winder (Logan, Utah), who played 17 matches for the team in 2022 before serving an 18-month church mission to Brazil.
AGGIE DOMINATION
• Along with being one of just two teams in the country with a single loss last season, Utah State out-scored its opponents by a combined score of 62-14. This ranked as the fifth-best scoring differential in the nation.
• Utah State's scoring differential (+48) was greater than the previous program record for goals in a season (40).
SCOUTING THE COUGARS
• In 2024, Washington State finished the season 8-5-6 with a 5-2-3 mark in conference play to finish fourth in the WCC.
• The Cougars return four letterwinners from last year's squad, all four of which were starters.
• Washington State was picked fifth in this year's WCC Preseason Poll, while defender Jenna Studer earned preseason all-conference accolades.
SERIES HISTORY
• Thursday's contest will be the fourth all-time meeting meeting between Utah State and Washington State. The Cougars lead the all-time series 2-0-1, with wins in 1997 and 2006, and a draw last season.
• When Utah State and Washington State met last season in Logan, the sides played to a scoreless draw. USU out-shot WSU 15-7, including a 10-2 shots advantage in the second half, but neither team found the back of the net in 90 minutes of action.
UP NEXT
Utah State will remain on the road next week as it travels to Stockton, California, to take on Pacific. The game is set for Thursday, Aug. 21, at 8 p.m. (MT) and will be streamed on ESPN+.
