BACK IN ACTION
No. 17 Utah State soccer (9-2-2, 2-0-0 Pac-12) continues the conference portion of its 2026 campaign this week with a pair of Pac-12 Conference matches. The Aggies will host Washington State on Thursday, Oct. 8, at Chuck & Gloria Bell Field, at 3 p.m., and will then travel to face Boise State on Sunday, Oct. 11, at 1 p.m.
FOLLOW ALONG
Both of this week's matches, 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 opened conference play with a 2-1 win over Texas State, then a 3-0 win on the road over Colorado State. Against the Bobcats, the Aggies posted a 33-4 shot advantage to earn the fifth ranked win in program history. Sophomore forward Samantha Sellers scored in the 23rd minute, then junior midfielder Kei Yoneda extended the lead from the penalty spot in the 35th minute. Against the Rams, USU scored all three of its goals in the final 30 minutes, including a brace from sophomore midfielder/forward Hadli Barrera.
2-0 VS 2-0 VS 2-0
Through the first week of Pac-12 play, just three teams currently sit without a loss at 2-0. Utah State will face the other two this week, taking on Washington State (home wins vs Oregon State and Fresno State) and Boise State (wins at San Diego State and vs Gonzaga).
AMONG THE BEST
Utah State boasts one of the most potent offenses in the country this season, currently ranking in the top 10 nationally in several major statistical categories, including: goal differential (6th - +24), assists (6th - 37), points (6th - 103), shots per game (9th - 18.85) and goals (10th - 33). Defensively, the Aggies rank 38th in the country in goals-against average (0.69) and 47th in shutout percentage (0.54).
AGGIES VS COUGARS
Thursday's matchup will be just the fifth all-time meeting between Utah State and Washington State. The Aggies trail in the series 1-2-1, but came out on top when the sides met in nonconference action last season in Pullman with a 1-0 win. The teams also met in Logan in 2024, a scoreless draw.
SCOUTING THE COUGARS
• Washington State enters the week with a 5-3-3 overall record. After going 3-3-3 in nonconference action, the team opened Pac-12 play with a pair of home wins last week, defeating Oregon State 3-1 and Fresno State 4-0.
• The Cougars have scored 16 goals this season while surrendering 11.
• Freshman forward Delaney Hawkins leads the squad this season with 11 points coming on a team-best five goals as well as one assist.
AGGIES VS BRONCOS
Sunday's match will be the 29th all-time meeting between Utah State and Boise State. The Aggies lead the series convincingly at 17-7-4, including a 5-2-1 record under coach Manny Martins. Last season, the squads met twice — a 3-0 win for the Broncos in the regular-season finale in Boise, then a 2-2 draw in the Mountain West Tournament title game in Boise, before the Aggies won the penalty kick shootout 4-2 to secure the championship.
SCOUTING THE BRONCOS
• Boise State enters the week with a 10-1-1 overall record, and is receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 poll as the fifth team out. In nonconference, it went 8-1-1, with a loss and a draw against the only two top-100 RPI opponents it faced. The Broncos opened Pac-12 play with a 4-1 win at San Diego State and a 3-0 win vs Gonzaga.
• The Broncos have scored 29 goals this season while surrendering five.
• Freshman midfielder/forward Campbell Wilson ranks eighth in the NCAA in points, with 25 points coming on nine goals and seven assists.
• BSU will play at Fresno State on Thursday before hosting the Aggies.
IN THE POLLS
• Utah State is ranked in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 for the fourth-straight week, climbing two spots to No. 17 this week.
• This is just the second season USU has ever been ranked. Previously, it made its Top 25 debut in 2024, when the Aggies climbed all the way to No. 7.
• USU received 72 points in the poll, ranking as the top non-P4 team in the country and the only ranked team in the Pac-12.
• Additionally, the Aggies are No. 21 in the TopDrawerSoccer Top 25 Poll.
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.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
After helping the Aggies to a 2-0-0 showing last week, sophomore goalkeeper Ivy Nystrom was named the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week. Nystrom played all 180 minutes in net for the Aggies and allowed just a single goal, including posting a shutout against Colorado State. This was her sixth clean sheet of the season, 18th-most in the country.
This was Nystrom's second DPOW award of the year, after also earning it on Aug. 31.
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 33 goals have come from 14 different players, with 10 players scoring multiple goals and nobody scoring more than four. Additionally, 16 different players have recorded at least one assist this season.
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 ninth 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 34-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 41-5-11 home record. During those games, the Aggies have out-scored opponents by a combined 135-39.
• 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 136-49-35 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 five home games this season, the Aggies are averaging 1,387 fans per game, a mark which ranks 14th 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 72-27-26 (.680) record, including a 33-15-11 (.653) mark in conference games. In the three years prior to his arrival, the team won just 16 total games.
UP NEXT
Utah State will continue Pac-12 play next week as it hosts Fresno State at Chuck & Gloria Bell Field on Saturday, Oct. 17, at 7:30 p.m.
