BACK IN ACTION
Utah State soccer (3-4-2, 0-0-0 MW) opens the conference portion of its 2025 campaign this week with a pair of Mountain West matches at Chuck & Gloria Bell Field. The Aggies will first host Colorado State on Thursday, Sept. 15, at 7 p.m. USU then takes on Wyoming on Sunday, Sept. 28, at 1 p.m.
FOLLOW ALONG
Both of this week's matches will be streamed for free on Mountain West Network. Fans can also follow along via StatBroadcast, with stream and stat links available on the team's schedule page at www.utahstateaggies.com.
JUMPING INTO CONFERENCE PLAY
• Utah State begins Mountain West play this week in search of its third-straight league championship. The Aggies have finished second in the regular season standings but won the league tournament to earn the MW's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament each of the last two years.
• Under head coach Manny Martins, the Aggies have gone 26-10-8 against conference opponents, including a 16-3-5 record the past two seasons.
• USU's first two league opponents, Colorado State and Wyoming, posted the two best non-conference records among Mountain West teams.
OUT-SHOOTING THE COMPETITION
• Utah State has taken as many or more shots than its opponent in seven of nine games this season. On the year, the team has a 120-77 shots advantage including a 49-31 advantage in shots on goal.
• The Aggies have limited six opponents to less than 10 shots and have not let a single opponent take more than five shots on goal.
FRESHMAN FIREPOWER
Freshman midfield/forward Hadli Barrera has found her rhythm, scoring the first two goals of her college career last week. Barrera scored in the 77th minute against Utah Valley, then a 54th minute equalizer against Portland.
MOVING UP THE LEADERBOARD
• The senior forward duo of Kaylie Chambers and Tess Werts continue to move up the Utah State career leaderboards this season.
• Both players currently have 17 assists, tied for fourth in program history.
• Chambers has 43 points in her career, ninth-most in USU history, while Werts ranks closely behind in 10th with 41 career points.
SCOUTING THE RAMS
• Colorado State enters the week 6-1-1 overall. The team's two non-wins have come in the past two contests, a 2-1 loss at Denver then a 1-1 draw at Omaha. Prior to that stretch, the Rams cracked into the United Soccer Coaches Top 25.
• The Rams have scored 12 goals this year and surrendered just five through eight games, posting four shutouts. Senior forward Olivia Fout leads the squad in scoring with five goals, while junior midfield/forward Michaela McGowan has a team-best four assists.
AGGIES VS RAMS
• Thursday's contest will be the 17th all-time meeting between Utah State and Colorado State. The Aggies lead the all-time series 10-4-2, including a 6-0-2 record in the past eight meetings. CSU's last win in the series came in 2021.
• USU and Colorado State met twice last season — a 1-1 regular season draw in Fort Collins, then a 2-0 Aggie win in the MW Tournament Championship game. In the championship match, USU posted a 21-2 shots advantage, using goals from Ellie Hendrix ('40) and Kate Christian ('83) to secure the victory.
• Utah State is 5-1 all-time in Logan against Colorado State.
SCOUTING THE COWGIRLS
• Wyoming enters the week 5-2-2 overall. The Cowgirls are coming off of a 0-1-1 week with a 2-0 loss at South Dakota State and a 1-1 draw at South Dakota.
• The Cowgirls have scored 10 goals this year and surrendered just six through nine games, posting five shutouts. Junior midfielder Alyssa Glover has tallied 14 points this year on six goals and two assists.
SERIES HISTORY
• Sunday's contest will be the 22nd all-time meeting between Utah State and Wyoming. The Aggies lead the series 10-9-2.
• The Cowgirls dealt USU its lone loss in 2024, defeating the Aggies 2-0 in Laramie last season.
• Utah State is 7-2-2 all-time in Logan against Wyoming.
YOUTH MOVEMENT
• While the Aggies returned 10 letterwinners from last year's squad, Utah State brought back just four starters and has relied on several young players in elevated roles this season. 11 of the team's top 18 players in terms of minutes played, including four of the top six, are underclassmen.
• On the defensive backline, true freshmen Capriel Winder and Summer Sofonia have started all nine matches.
ICYMI
• Utah State split a pair of matches last week, first defeating Utah Valley at Bell Field 2-0, then losing on the road to Portland 2-1.
• Against the Wolverines, USU scored in the 58th and 77th minutes with goals from junior midfielder Summer Diamond and freshman midfield/forward Hadli Barrera.
• Against the Pilots, USU posted a 10-5 shots advantage but fell short in a 2-1 loss. The team's lone goal came from Barrera in the 54th minute.
WELCOME TO BELL
• In the past four years under Manny Martins, Utah State holds a 32-5-8 home record at Chuck and Gloria Bell Field. During those games, the Aggies have out-scored opponents by a combined 90-30.
• Dating back to 2022, 18 of the past 28 USU opponents at Bell Field have been shut out.
• Last season, USU went 7-0-2 at home and out-scored opponents by a combined 29-4.
• All-time, Utah State is 127-49-32 at home.
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 56-24-19 (.662) 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 .662 ranks second-best in Mountain West Conference history, behind only BYU's Jennifer Rockwood's .739 from 1999-2010.
THE CHAMPS ARE BACK
The 2024 campaign was historic 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.
UNDER THE LIGHTS
Chuck & Gloria Bell Field looks a little bit different this season. A major offseason renovation to USU's home field added a new playing surface and lights, allowing the Aggies to play night games at home for the first time in program history. This was part one of a three-phase renovation, which will eventually include a new video board, grandstands, press box and locker room.
UP NEXT
Utah State will continue Mountain West play with a pair of road games next week in Colorado Springs, first traveling to face Air Force on Thursday, Oct. 2, at 6 p.m., then facing Colorado College on Sunday, Oct. 5, at 12 p.m.
