There hasn’t been much drama through the first few weeks of the 2026 college soccer season in Utah.
That changed this week, with a significant upset of a power-conference opponent by an in-state foe.
Each week, we’ll rank the state’s seven NCAA Division I women’s soccer teams based on the week’s results, season’s body of work, and level of difficulty in competition, as well as any regional or national honors that may come their way.
Let’s try to make sense of the chaos.
BYU (3-1)
The 14th-ranked Cougars keep rolling with a 1-0 win last Thursday when Minnesota scored an own goal while trying to defending a follow-through from senior Mattyn Summers-Oviatt.
BYU out-shot the Gophers 12-4 and held 14% of possession to earn the 17th shutout in South Field history and collect their third win over a Big Ten foe.
The schedule doesn’t lighten up Thursday night in hosting new Pac-12 addition Colorado State before welcoming Oklahoma from the SEC for a Saturday afternoon kickoff (2 p.m. MT, ESPN+).
Utah State (3-1-1)
The Aggies collected a pair of in-state shutouts as Desert Hills alum Ellie Hendrix scored the game-winner in back-to-back 1-0 road wins over Utah Valley and the University of Utah.
Hendrix was named Pac-12 offensive player of the week for the honors, and sophomore goalkeeper Ivy Nystrom — whose heroics included stopping a penalty kick to preserve the win in Orem — was named league defensive player of the week.
The Aggies host Utah Tech at Chuck and Gloria Bell Field on Thursday before traveling to another Big 12 foe in Boulder, Colorado on Sunday.
Utah Valley (1-2-1)
The next three can considered a three-way tie for third, but we’re listing the Wolverines first based on most recent results.
Utah Valley collected its first win of the season in a big way, bouncing back from the loss to the Aggies with an emphatic 2-1 win over No. 17 Kansas at UCCU Stadium in Orem.
Malia Jessop scored her first goal of the season for Utah Valley, and Sadie Beardall converted off a high press to notch her first of the year by going through the Jayhawks goalkeeper to snap a three-match winless skid to start the season.
The Wolverines are in Hawaii this week for the OUTRIGGER No Ka Oi against Washington State and New Mexico State before returning to Orem to host San Diego State next Saturday, Sept. 12 (7 p.m. MT, ESPN+).
Utah (2-2-1)
Yes, a 2-0 win over a shorthanded UVU squad in Orem should matter.
But so do back-to-back losses to Utah State and Utah Tech for the Utes, who out-shot the Trailblazers 28-9 including 11-6 in shots on goal before Jocelyn Wright laced the match-winner in the 70th minute for the Trailblazers’ biggest win of the season.
Utah takes the two-game slide into Thursday’s trip to former Pac-12 rival Oregon.
Utah Tech (3-2-1)
The Trailblazers capped a 2-0 week with the first win over a power conference opponent since jumping to NCAA Division I in 2020.
After a 1-0 win at UC Riverside on Thursday, Abby Olsen scored an equalizer just 38 minutes after Utah’s Shannon Davidson gave the Utes a lead and Utah Tech held off the Utes prior to Wright’s late stunner in St. George.
“This was the best win I've been a part of in my time here,” Utah Tech head coach Lexi Brown said of the moment. “I am so incredibly proud of my team in how they competed, and our coaching staff for the game plan we set for this match. We knew it would be a lower possession game for us because of Utah's ability to create chaos with their pressure and interchanges, but I thought we did a really nice job executing tonight."
The Trailblazers can follow up the win with perhaps an even bigger statement against the Pac-12 favorites in Logan on Thursday.
Weber State (2-2-1)
The Wildcats followed up a two-game winning streak with a 3-0 road loss to Long Beach State, and stay on the road Thursday at Pacific (8 p.m. MT, ESPN+).
The Big Sky preseason favorites will then return home for a pair of matches against South Dakota State and UC Santa Barbara before a key trek to in-state rival Utah Valley on Sept. 19 (7 p.m. MT, ESPN+).
Southern Utah (2-3)
The Thunderbirds wrapped up their five-match season-opening road trip with losses to Utah and Sacramento State by an aggregate score of 5-1.
They’re back home Thursday against UC Irvine (4 p.m. MT, ESPN+) before hosting Justice College at 11 a.m. Sunday.
