BACK IN ACTION
No. 25 Utah State soccer (11-3-3, 4-1-1 Pac-12) plays the final road contest of its 2026 regular season this weekend as it travels to Corvallis, Oregon, to face Oregon State on Friday, Oct. 30, at 7 p.m. (MT), at Oregon State's Lorenz Field.
FOLLOW ALONG
Friday's match, along with every conference match this year, will be streamed free on the Pac-12 YouTube page. Fans can also follow along via StatBroadcast, with stream and stat links available on the team's schedule page at www.utahstateaggies.com.
ICYMI
Utah State suffered its first loss of Pac-12 play and saw a nine-match unbeaten streak come to an end last Sunday, falling at Gonzaga 3-1. Despite out-shooting the Zags 20-9, the USU defense had its worst outing of the season as it allowed a season-high three goals.
WHAT'S THE SCENARIO?
With just two games remaining in the regular season, Utah State currently sits atop the Pac-12 standings at 13 points. Boise State also has 13 points, though the Aggies hold the tiebreaker based on their head-to-head meeting.
No team has yet clinched a Pac-12 Tournament berth (top four teams), while only Fresno State has been eliminated. USU needs a single point out of its final two matches to clinch its tournament spot, and can guarantee the regular season conference title with wins in both games.
AMONG THE BEST
Utah State ranks among the nation's best on both sides of the pitch in several major statistical categories this season, currently ranking in the top 25 in: shots per game (5th - 18.71), assists (14th - 40), shots on goal per game (16th - 8.06), shutout percentage (17th - 0.59), points (18th - 114), goal differential (18th - +25) and goals (22nd - 37).
IN THE POLLS
• Utah State is ranked in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 for the seventh-straight week, dropping six spots after last week's loss at Gonzaga. The Aggies have climbed as high as No. 16 this season.
• This is just the second season in which USU has ever been ranked. Previously, it made its Top 25 debut in 2024, when the Aggies climbed all the way to No. 7.
• In 2024, Utah State spent eight weeks ranked. This season, it has spent seven.
AGGIES VS BEAVERS
Friday's matchup will be just the second-ever meeting between Utah State and Oregon State. The previous contest between the sides was in 2008, a 2-1 Beaver win in Corvallis.
SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
• Oregon State enters the contest with a 3-10-4 overall record. It is tied for fifth in the Pac-12 standings at 2-2-2, with wins over Fresno State and Colorado State, losses against Boise State and Washington State, and draws to San Diego State and Texas State.
• The Beavers have scored 19 goals this season while surrendering 32.
• Freshman forward Mary Hoffman leads the squad this season with 13 points, coming on a team-best six goals along with one assist.
SHUT 'EM DOWN
• Utah State boasts one of the nation's top defenses this season, allowing just 12 goals through 17 games.
• The Aggies have shut out 10 opponents this year, including four of its six Pac-12 foes. The team's 10 shutouts rank tied for fourth in a season in program history (record is 15 in 2024).
• The team's 0.588 shutout percentage ranks 17th in the nation.
• Sophomore goalkeeper Ivy Nystrom has nine clean sheets to her name, ranking fourth in the nation. Her nine shutouts rank tied for fourth in program history (record is 11).
WELL-DESERVED RECOGNITION
Three members of the Utah State back line were recognized by TopDrawerSoccer last week, as the publication announced its Midseason Top 100 Players and Top 100 Freshmen lists. The sophomore defensive duo of Summer Sofonia (No. 83) and Capriel Winder (No. 99) were named among the top 100 players in the country, while defender Lila Emmetsberger checked in at No. 55 on the top 100 freshmen list.
NO SHOT
• While offensively the Aggies rank in the top-20 nationally in both shots and shots on goal per game, defensively, USU has been suffocating as well.
• Utah State is averaging 18.7 shots per game while limiting opponents to just 7.2. The Aggies also average 8.1 shots on goal per game while facing just 2.8.
• 14 of the Aggies' 17 opponents this year have been held to four or fewer shots on goal, while 11 have been limited to two or fewer.
POSTSEASON SOCCER COMING TO THE BELL
This year's Pac-12 Championship will be hosted by Utah State at Chuck & Gloria Bell Field. The Aggies earned the right to host by posting the league's highest RPI in nonconference play. The four-team tournament will be held Nov. 11-14, with a pair of semifinal matches on Wednesday, Nov. 11, and the championship on Saturday, Nov. 14. This will be just the second time USU has hosted a conference tournament, after previously hosting the 2012 WAC Tournament.
SPREADING THE WEALTH
Not only does Utah State have one of the top scoring offenses in the country this season, the team's goals have come from all across the field. USU's 37 goals have come from 14 different players, with 11 players scoring multiple goals and nobody scoring more than four. Additionally, 17 different players have recorded at least one assist this season.
STREAKS SNAPPED
With its 1-0 win at Boise State on Oct. 11, Utah State put an end to a pair of long-running streaks. Entering that contest, BSU held the nation's longest winning streak with nine-straight victories, and were on the longest home unbeaten streak in program history at 14 matches.
SETTING THE TONE
• In its inaugural Pac-12 contest on Oct. 1, Utah State defeated then-No. 22 Texas State 2-1 in what was the first-ever ranked-vs-ranked matchup at Bell Field.
• The Aggies out-shot the Bobcats 33-4 in the contest, the fifth-most shots in a game in Utah State program history.
• This was the fifth win over a ranked opponent in USU program history, and the second this year. All five have come under head coach Manny Martins.
QUEENS OF THE HIVE
Utah State faced four Beehive State opponents during nonconference play, coming out victorious in each contest and outscoring those teams by a combined 14-1. USU earned road wins at Utah Valley (1-0) and Utah (1-0), and defeated Utah Tech (8-1) and BYU (4-0) in Logan. This is the second time in the past three seasons the Aggies have swept in-state opponents, along with 2024.
A TIP OF THE CAP
• USU sophomore defender Capriel Winder has tallied a team-best seven assists this season. This leads the Pac-12 and ranks 40th in the nation.
• Winder already ranks tied for sixth all-time for assists in a season at USU, and is the only defender ranked in the top-10. The program record is 11, held by Ashley Cardozo (2021) and Jessica Brooksby (2016).
WELCOME TO BELL
• Chuck & Gloria Bell Field is home to the nation's longest unbeaten streak, as Utah State has gone undefeated in 36-straight games, a streak of longer than three calendar years. The team's last loss in Logan came Aug. 24, 2023 against Utah.
• In the past six years under Manny Martins, Utah State holds a 42-5-12 home record. During those games, the Aggies have out-scored opponents by a combined 137-39.
• Across the 2024 and 2025 seasons, USU went 13-0-5 at home and out-scored opponents by a combined 58-10.
• All-time, Utah State is 137-49-36 at home.
THE BEST SHOW IN TOWN
Helping Utah State to one of the best home field advantages in the country is one of the best crowds in the country at Chuck & Gloria Bell Field. Through nine home games this season, the Aggies are averaging 1,374 fans per game, a mark which ranks 16th in the nation. USU set a program record attendance with its first-ever Bell Field sell-out this season against BYU, playing in front of 3,181 fans.
MARTINS MAGIC
• Utah State head coach Manny Martins, the two-time Mountain West Coach of the Year (2023, 24) and three-time Pacific Region Coach of the Year (2023, 24, 25) has led the most successful stretch of Aggie soccer in program history.
• As the head coach at USU, he has a 74-28-27 (.678) record, including a 35-16-12 (.651) mark in conference games. In the three years prior to his arrival, the team won just 16 total games.
UP NEXT
Utah State will conclude its regular season next week at Chuck & Gloria Bell Field as it hosts Pac-12 foe San Diego State for Senior Night on Thursday, Nov. 5, at 7:30 p.m.
