Saturday Night Fixture Pits Utah Soccer Against #25 BYU

SALT LAKE CITY – For the first time in nearly a month, the University of Utah women’s soccer team is preparing for a match away from home and the opponent will be the No. 25 BYU Cougars, who will face the Utes on Saturday at 7 p.m. at South Field.
 

 
Scouting BYU
One year after forging a path all the way to the NCAA National Championship Game, the Cougars, who will start the week by taking on Utah State on Thursday, own a 3-2-2 record that includes triumphs over Cal State Fullerton, Ohio State and Cal State Northridge. All of those victories were shutouts and sophomore Savanna Mason, who’s in her first year as BYU’s starting keeper, owns each clean sheet.
 
On offense, no one has piled up more points than Brecken Mozingo, who leads the Cougars in both goals and assists. Mozingo has scored in four consecutive matches and picked up two goals in her team’s 5-0 drubbing of CSUN.
 
All Time Against BYU
The Utes have met the Cougars more than any other opponent in program history and Saturday will mark the 35^th time these teams have gotten together. BYU owns a 24-7 advantage in those tilts, with the teams tying thrice. The Cougars are 5-0-2 in their last seven meetings with their in-state rivals, with Utah’s most recent win in the series coming 2014. The Utes will also be gunning for the squad’s first win in Provo since 2007.
 
Last Time Against BYU
On Sept. 9, 2021, the Cougars came to Ute Field for a bout that went the distance, as 110 minutes couldn’t produce a goal for either side. The two adversaries took 28 shots, 19 of them by the visitors, but both keepers made four saves, including three from Utah’s Chelsea Peterson in overtime, preserving the scoreless draw.
 
A Scoring Machine
It has taken Taliana Kaufusi only seven matches to equal her scoring total from 2021 and her most recent goal was the only score in her team’s 1-0 victory over Utah State on Sunday. Kaufusi is the first Ute to log four goals in the team’s first seven games since Paola van der Veen accomplished that feat in 2018. Kaufusi also scored in Utah’s Sept. 4 tie with Alabama, meaning…