How a Utah semipro soccer team went from tryouts to league final in less than a year

OREM — Taylor Rath moved to Utah to play her final season of college soccer at Utah State almost sight unseen.

After the Aggies' spring season, the Pepperdine graduate transfer tried out for the local semipro club to maintain fitness and prepare for the fall while knowing few others than the half-dozen or so teammates who were with her.

By mid-July, she found a family in Utah.

Rath earned the starting goalkeeper job with Utah United, the first-year USL W League franchise made up of some of the top college soccer talent in the state that competes in the 4-year-old, 93-club pre-professional league made up of mostly college soccer stars that played home games at Clyde Field at Utah Valley University.

And compete they have, with a 9-1 regular-season record, a Mountain division, and three straight playoff wins en route to hosting the USL W final Saturday at BYU's South Field. Tickets are on sale through the BYU ticket office.

From tryouts in the spring to the mid-summer final, the group has come together from varied collegiate backgrounds like BYU, Utah, Utah State, Utah Valley, TCU, Memphis and North Carolina toward a championship nucleus.

"I was definitely very shocked by how quickly we came together and our chemistry," said Rath, the Pepperdine graduate from Las Vegas. "But it's honestly the girls and the personalities; everyone is so welcoming and hard working.

"I think the chemistry was incredible," she added. "I was very shocked, especially not being from Utah. It was something I felt privileged to be a part of in the first year."

United will host the defending USL W champions North Carolina Courage U23 at 7 p.m. MT Saturday. That's a tall task for a club that has only been together for three months.

But Utah has already accomplished tall tasks.

Led by former Utah and Washington State assistant coach Scott Halasz and USL W League golden boot winner Seven Castain with her 20 goals, the club piled up nine regular-season shutouts behind former Utah State standout Kaitlyn Richins and the back line — including a 1-0 road win at Minnesota Aurora FC in last week's national semifinals.

"We definitely got everything put together really quick, from tryouts until now," said Ruby Hladek, the former American Fork High and BYU attacker who will be a senior at Utah Valley in the fall. "We started right off the bat. But the biggest thing was just showing up; we practice basically every day, and everyone is bought in."

Just showing up in a competitive training environment that counts on familiarity — even the familiarity of players who played with or against each other since high school, club and Olympic Development Program days.

That includes Castain, the All-Big 12 forward from Draper who built off last year's 16-goal, six-assist campaign at TCU by finding the back of the net nearly two dozen times in the summer while playing in front of friends and family. That includes a grandmother who proudly showed up to each Utah United home game wearing a purple replica jersey with her No. 7 on the back.

And that made all the difference for the former Waterford star.

"I'm a home body at heart," Castain said. "I spend nine months of the year away from my parents, away from friends, away from family. Coming home to Utah has been a part of my routine since I was a 17-year-old freshman my first semester at TCU.

"It's really just my reset moment, and my moment of growth. Utah has so many good trainers and programs that can help me grow. Doing so in an environment I can feel comfortable in and feel safe has been really good."

Castain played 531 minutes in nine matches for Utah United, including seven starts, to pace a league-high 61-goal campaign with 17 in the regular season.

She wasn't alone, either.

Hladek has scored six goals in 12 matches, including six starts. Utah's Lilliah Blum added five goals in nine contests, Utah State's Kaylie Chambers scored five, and BYU's Ellie Walbruch had five goals while playing in just five games due to injury.

The Courage have a prolific attacking core as well, including Liberty's Ivy Garner with five goals and two assists on the season and Duke's Mia Minestrella with five goals.

"They're great competitors," Walbruch said. "I know that they're going to be a talented team, and we'll have to bring our best foot forward.

"But being able to host in our first season in this league is huge. We had a lot of goals set at the beginning of the season to bring a competitive environment, to have girls committed — and to go to a national championship in our first year speaks volumes to the talent we have in Utah, the talent we have on this team, and the professionalism."

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