- Utah State's 4-0 win over No. 13 BYU was the most decisive victory over a ranked opponent in program history, watched by a sold-out record 3,181 at Bell Field and built on two first career goals.
- This story sits inside Utah's soccer lane and connects to the larger statewide sports picture.
- The story is backed by 2 sources and a visible last-verified date.
September 12, 2026
September 12, 2026
4 min / 957 words
2 official links
Utah State women's soccer beat No. 13 BYU 4-0 at Chuck & Gloria Bell Field on September 10, the program's most decisive win over a ranked opponent and its second-highest ranked win ever, according to Utah State Athletics. A sold-out record crowd of 3,181 watched it.
The margin is the headline; how it was built is the more useful part. Two of the four goals were the first of their scorers' careers and both began with a corner played short rather than struck straight into the box. The other two followed turnovers — one won in midfield, one won just inside the BYU box. The Aggies out-shot BYU 22-9 and held the Cougars to two shots on target across 90 minutes.
Utah State moved to 5-2-1; BYU fell to 4-2-1. Neither team had opened conference play.
Two corners, played short, and two first career goals
Utah State scored in the 10th minute from a set piece it chose not to hit long. Senior midfielder Summer Diamond played a short corner to freshman defender Lila Emmetsberger, whose ball into the box found sophomore defender Summer Sofonia's head. It was Sofonia's first career goal.
The fourth goal, in the 88th minute, came the same way. Sophomore midfielder Mia Lopez played the corner short to sophomore defender Capriel Winder, who picked out sophomore defender Victoria Espinoza at the far post. Espinoza chipped it past the goalkeeper's diving reach. It was also her first career goal.
Two first career goals in one match is unusual on its own. That both arrived from the same short-corner routine, bookending the scoring 78 minutes apart, says something about a rehearsed pattern rather than a lucky night — and both were finished by defenders.
The two goals in between came from turnovers
Utah State's second and third goals were won higher up the pitch.
Three minutes into the second half, junior midfielder Rachel Reitz took the ball off BYU in midfield. Diamond ran onto it, carried into a two-on-two, and from the top of the 18-yard box chipped a left-footed finish past the goalkeeper for 2-0.
In the 68th minute, junior midfielder Austin Miller won possession just inside the BYU box. Senior forward Solena Sellers finished from 15 yards for 3-0.
Both goals began with an Aggie taking the ball from a BYU player rather than building through them. Against a top-15 opponent, that is the more transferable detail — pressing that produces possession in dangerous areas is a method, not a moment.
What the box score shows
Utah State's 22 shots came from 14 different players, and six of those shots were on target. BYU managed nine shots and two on goal. The Aggies won the corner count 6-3 and committed 15 fouls to BYU's seven.
The scoring was weighted to the second half — one goal before the interval, three after — but the territorial pattern was set long before that. Utah State held a 10-2 shots advantage across the opening 45 minutes and led only 1-0 at the break, which is the version of this match where BYU stays in it. The three second-half goals closed a gap between performance and scoreline that had been open for most of an hour.
Efficiency is the other thing the numbers show. Four of Utah State's six shots on target were goals, and each of the four scorers registered exactly one shot on goal. Sofonia, Solena Sellers and Espinoza took one shot apiece in the entire match and scored with it.
Sophomore goalkeeper Ivy Nystrom played all 90 minutes and made two saves for the shutout. Two saves is a light workload for a clean sheet, which is itself the point: BYU rarely reached her.
A 4-0 record against Utah opponents
The win completed Utah State's sweep of in-state opponents for the second time in three seasons. The Aggies beat Utah 1-0, Utah Valley 1-0 and Utah Tech 8-1 before the BYU result, finishing 4-0 against Utah programs with a combined score of 14-1.
Utah State is now 4-2-2 against BYU since Manny Martins took over in 2021. That record sits alongside the Aggies' broader move into the Pac-12, where in-state results carry different weight than they did in the Mountain West.
What the result does not settle
Neither team had played a conference match at this point, so nothing here touches the standings. BYU had lost twice in seven matches; one heavy defeat in a non-conference fixture is not a verdict on a ranked side's season.
Utah State's own record carries the same caution in reverse. The two results immediately preceding this one were a 2-0 loss at No. 24 Colorado and the 8-1 win over Utah Tech. A team that beats one ranked opponent 4-0 and loses to another inside the same stretch has shown a ceiling, not a settled level — which is what a non-conference schedule is for.
Utah State stays at Bell Field to host South Dakota State on Sunday, September 13 at 1 p.m., streamed free on the Pac-12 YouTube channel.
Key facts: Utah State 4, BYU 0
- Date and site: September 10, 2026, Chuck & Gloria Bell Field, Logan
- Attendance: Sold-out program-record 3,181
- Records after: Utah State 5-2-1, BYU 4-2-1; neither had begun conference play
- Historical marker: Utah State's most decisive win over a ranked opponent and its second-highest ranked win, per Utah State Athletics
- Scorers: Summer Sofonia 10th minute (first career goal), Summer Diamond 48th, Solena Sellers 68th, Victoria Espinoza 88th (first career goal)
- Shots: Utah State 22 (6 on target) from 14 different players; BYU 9 (2 on target)
- Shutout: Ivy Nystrom, 90 minutes, two saves
- In-state record: 4-0 against Utah opponents, combined 14-1
- Series: Utah State is 4-2-2 against BYU under Manny Martins since 2021
