The BYU women’s soccer team is gearing up for their first road trip in almost a month, facing Utah State Thursday at 4 p.m.
“We’ve played some of the best soccer these last three weeks that I’ve seen a BYU team play in a long time,” coach Jennifer Rockwood said. “Our goal is to be the most prepared and most confident coming into league play and we need to carry that over to our game against Utah State.”
During the home stretch the Cougars took out three ranked teams in No. 11 Long Beach State, No. 6 Penn State and No. 23 Washington on their way to a ranking of No. 7 in the country.
But most of BYU’s success this year has come at home raising the question of whether the team can be the same on the road. But senior defender Lindsi Lisonbee Cutshall thinks the team is much more than just a home game winner.
“We’re the luckiest team out there,” she said. “There are no teams that have fans as amazing and supportive as ours. They get us going and the team now is playing the best that its ever played. But even without the crowd to get us going we will come out with intensity and work as hard as we need to in order to show everyone who we really are.”
Utah State comes into the game 5-1-3 with a recent tie against the University of Washington, a team BYU beat 3-1. The Cougars are 8-1.
“We’re playing so well right now,” Junior Midfielder Keleigh Royall said. “We know they will be coming out hard so we’ve worked all week to make sure we come out quick and play our game.”
In other Cougar news, two-time All-American Defender Lindsi Lisonbee Cutshall was chosen as one of 30 NCAA women’s soccer athletes to be considered for the 2012 Senior Class Award. The award considers four areas of excellence as criteria including community, classroom, character and competition. Previous BYU candidates for the award include Matt Reynolds and Jimmer Fredette.
“I’m just so gratefull to my family, coaches and teammates for helping me along my career,” Cutshall said. “They’re the ones who deserve the award.”
Following the Cougars’ game Thursday, they will travel to the University of Oregon to take on the Ducks. Oregon is currently 5-2-1 on the season.
