A historic regular season that saw Utah State soccer post a 16-1-4 overall record led to the Aggies being very well represented in the end-of-season awards list in the Mountain West. A total of 14 awards and honors were accumulated by 11 individuals for USU, including head coach Manny Martins.
The currently 25th-ranked Aggies set a program records for single-season wins (16), goals scored (58), assists (59), shutouts (13), and goal differential (+45) — Utah State ranks top five in the nation in each of those categories — along with reaching as high as No. 7 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll with eight total weeks spent in the poll. The seventh overall ranking was the highest rank any USU program had reached since 1960 (men’s basketball, also ranked seventh in the Feb. 8 and Feb. 15, 1960 Associated Press Poll).
That level of success proved to be plenty for Martins to earn the Mountain West Coach of the Year award, his second straight time winning the award, having done so in 2023 after leading USU to a 14-8-1 record, including a victory over BYU who, at the time, was the No. 1 ranked team in the country.
“Humbled by this recognition, which anyone who’s ever been a head coach knows it is mostly a reflection of the quality of athletes and professionals that I am surrounded by,” Martins said in a post on social media. “It takes a village, and I am grateful for every single person in our village.”
Martins was joined in receiving “of the year” honors as Kaitlyn Richins was named Defensive Player of the Year — another award the Aggies have claimed two years in a row as former star defender Kelsey Kafusi earned the honor for 2023 — with goalkeeper Cora Brendle being given Newcomer of the Year. Richins and Brendle were leaders on the defense that posted the aforementioned 13 shutouts and allowed just part of a defense that allowed just 0.62 goals per game (14th in the country).
USU has given up just 13 goals all year, currently tied for fewest in program history aside from the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season. Brendle accounted for nine shutouts, which tied for the lead in the Mountain West despite playing at least three fewer games than the two athletes she tied with (Haley Bartell of Wyoming and Genevieve Crenshaw for Boise State).
Richins was one of five Aggies to be named First Team All-Mountain West, joined by fellow defender Kylie Olsen, midfielder Alex Day, and forwards Bizzy Arevalo and Tess Werts. Two USU players were named to the second team, Brendle and midfielder Summer Diamond. Four players earned spots on the All-Newcomer team, including Brendle (for a team-best three total honors/awards) and three freshmen, Ellie Hendrix, Austin Miller and Mia Mullenmeister.
Utah State Player Awards (with stats) 2024
| Player | Award(s) | Games Played | Minutes | Goals | Assists | Saves | Shutouts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kaitlyn Richins | DPOY, 1st Tm All-MW | 21 | 1,768 | 2 | 1 | – | – |
| Bizzy Arevalo | 1st Tm All-MW | 17 | 852 | 6 | 6 | – | – |
| Kylie Olsen | 1st Tm All-MW | 21 | 1,769 | 4 | 5 | – | – |
| Alex Day | 1st Tm All-MW | 20 | 1,582 | 3 | 1 | – | – |
| Tess Werts | 1st Tm All-MW | 19 | 1,054 | 8 | 7 | – | – |
| Cora Brendle | 2nd Tm All-MW, NOTY, All-Newcomer | 16 | 1,350 | – | – | 34 | 9 |
| Summer Diamond | 2nd Tm All-MW | 20 | 1,264 | 5 | 5 | – | – |
| Ellie Hendrix | All-Newcomer | 21 | 670 | 2 | 3 | – | – |
| Austin Miller | All-Newcomer | 21 | 780 | 4 | 4 | – | – |
| Mia Mullenmeister | All-Newcomer | 20 | 510 | 3 | 1 | – | – |
With those awards in hand, the Aggies will move to defend their conference tournament title. In 2023, USU finished second in the regular season standings and went on to defeat Colorado State in the Mountain West Tournament title game and earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament. This year, Utah State again finished second in the standings and will also face the Rams, albeit in the semifinal this time and not the title bout. That game will take place Wednesday at 5 p.m. MT in San Diego where the tournament is being hosted. The victor will advance to play the winner of Boise State and San Diego State on Saturday at 7 p.m.
Earlier this season, USU and CSU tied 1-1 in a game played in Fort Collins. The Aggies scored a 19th-minute goal with the Rams pulling even with a 30th-minute equalizer and neither team scored the rest of the way. With some help from getting that tie against USU, the Rams led the race for the regular season conference title late into the season before a 1-0 loss to SDSU and 0-0 tie to Wyoming led to them tumbling from the top spot to the third seed. Utah State actually had the same record in conference play (7-1-3) but the Aggies won the tiebreaker of goal differential in MW games.
Utah State is unbeaten against Colorado State in the last seven meetings between the two teams, including two wins in the Mountain West Tournament (2021 and 2023, both 1-0 wins).
Looking at USU’s history against teams on the other side of the bracket, the Aggies have also won the last four games against Boise State, including 2-0 in this year’s regular season finale and a 1-0 double-overtime win over the Broncos in the 2023 Mountain West Tournament. Utah State has had less recent success against San Diego State, with only one win in program history over the Aztecs in 14 total matchups. That first victory occurred this year at home when the Aggies won 5-1.
