Well-traveled BYU women's soccer heads north for rivalry with Utes

PROVO — The BYU women’s soccer team has already hosted the No. 1 team in the nation, Stanford.

It has already been on a road trip to the heartland, at Nebraska and Texas A&M.

It's even played on the West Coast, at UCLA and Cal State Fullerton.

So making the short drive north on I-15 isn’t exactly a “road trip.”

But make no mistake, this game is different.

BYU plays at Utah at 7 p.m. MDT Friday in the 31st all-time meeting between the schools separated by barely an hour’s drive (with traffic). The game will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Network and ESPN 960 radio.

Both teams will know the trip well, too; BYU has 15 players from the state of Utah on this year’s roster, while the Utes list 10 local products.

Two of the past three Deseret News Ms. Soccer standouts will face off against each other in BYU’s Mikayla Colohan and Utah’s Haylee Cacciacarne, who both hail from local powerhouse Davis High.

“We know each other, and we grew up playing together,” said BYU’s Madie Siddoway Gates, the lone senior on this year’s squad. “There are several of us who played for La Roca on our team here, and a bunch of La Roca girls on Utah.

“I think there’s a lot of excitement to play against old teammates or just players you grew up playing against and with.”

BYU comes into Friday night’s match with a 2-2-1 overall record, having recently snapped a two-match losing streak with a 10-0 rout of visiting Idaho State at South Field.

The Utes (1-2-1) have just one win in their first four games, a 2-0 win at Weber State just two days after a home-opening 1-0 loss Aug. 17 to Minnesota.

“They always come out hard against us; it’s a rivalry game,” Gates said. “There is always so much hype and excitement, and we expect the same formation they played in the spring.

“We’re ready to just come out and play our game.”

With such close proximity and connections, friendships develop between the two sides.

But between the white lines Friday night, make no mistake — it’s all business.

“Now it’s appropriate, and there’s definitely a focus,” BYU coach Jennifer Rockwood said. “We’re just trying to get better at what we do, but there is no question — a lot of these girls know each other. They played club together, played high school soccer together, and they’re friends.

“There’s always a little more something when you play against your friends.”

Colohan and Cacciacarne won two state titles for Davis, along with BYU freshman Olivia Wade and Utah junior Ireland Dunn (Wade and Colohan went on to win a third-straight title for the Darts after the other two graduated, as well).

And while the two can remain friends off the field, on the pitch is a little different.

“It’s definitely going to be a personal game,” Wade said. “It’ll be fun.”

Some players have even played in the game on both sides. BYU’s Ella Ballstaedt suited up for two years for the Utes, scoring two goals on the hill before transferring this past spring to Provo.

BYU leads the all-time series 21-7-2, and the Cougars haven’t lost since a penalty kick proved the difference in a 1-0 defeat in Salt Lake City back on Sept. 5, 2014. BYU went on to finish 13-5-3 that season, while the Utes ended the year 7-6-7.

The Utes also took a result out of Provo a year ago with a 1-1 draw at BYU.

But as with most rivalries or local derby matches, records won’t matter in Friday’s next chapter, especially for the Cougars, playing in their fourth of five true road games in the first seven matches of the season.

“We’re very purposeful in going on the road,” said Rockwood, who attributed the road-heavy tilt to BYU’s lack of class time before Labor Day. “It’s also good team-bonding at the beginning. We only have a few days to welcome in a freshman class and find out where we are.

“Going on the road and spending time together is a great bonding opportunity.”

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