LOGAN, Utah — Utah State soccer (5-5-4, 2-1-2 MW) posted a dominant 7-1 win over Fresno State Thursday night at Chuck & Gloria Bell Field, sparked by a historic performance by senior forward Tess Werts who set a USU program record and tied a Mountain West Conference record with four goals in the contest.
Werts, the team’s leading scorer in 2024, entered the night leading USU in shots but without a goal this season. She then became the first Aggie to ever score four goals in a game, netting goals in the 25th, 27th, 59th and 67th minutes. Utah State also matched a program record for assists in a game, with eight total assists coming on the seven goals, while setting a program record for goals in a Mountain West game.
Along with Werts’ big performance, graduate midfielder Rine Yonaha had a career night as she totaled five points on two goals and an assist. Yonaha scored the team’s opening goal of the night in the 13th minute, a penalty kick following a foul in the box, then a second set piece goal in the 79th minute when she scored on a free kick from 20 yards out.
Fresno State’s lone goal of the night came in the 53rd minute, an own goal which came on a corner that deflected off a pair of Aggie players in the box.
SCORING SUMMARY
12:25 – Rine Yonaha (USU)
Penalty Kick Goal
24:10 – Tess Werts (USU)
Assists: Kaylie Chambers, Carli Conner
26:22 – Tess Werts (USU)
Assists: Rine Yonaha, Austin Miller
52:03 – Own Goal (FS)
Assist: None
58:25 – Tess Werts (USU)
Assists: Kaylie Chambers, Carli Conner
63:20 – Austin Miller (USU)
Assist: Capriel Winder
66:19 – Tess Werts (USU)
Assist: Austin Miller
78:13 – Rine Yonaha (USU)
Assist: None
UTAH STATE HEAD COACH MANNY MARTINS:
“We’ve been talking a lot about being more consistent with our identity. We’ve been playing some really good soccer, but there have been moments where we switch off and we’ve paid for it. The whole team really committed to coming out on the front foot to play with grit, being brave, being tough, working hard for 90 minutes. We talked about the fact that the quality is on the tail end of that, and it showed.”
MATCH NOTES
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Utah State’s seven goals were the most scored by the team this year, and tied for the fifth-most in program history. This was a program record for goals scored in a Mountain West game by USU.
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Utah State’s +6 goal differential matches the team’s best ever in a MW game, tying the team’s 6-0 win over Colorado College in 2024.
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Utah State’s eight assists match the program record set in 2007 against Louisiana Tech.
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Tess Werts’ four goals are a program record, and match the Mountain West Conference record.
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Fourteen USU players have previously scored three goals in a contest, but none have scored four. The most recent hat trick came in 2018, when Sara Taylor netted three goals against Idaho State.
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Just seven players in Mountain West history have previously scored four goals in a game, while just four have in a conference game. The most recent to do so was New Mexico’s Alesia Garcia in 2021.
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These were the first four goals of the season for Werts, and the 13th, 14th, 15th and 16th of her career.
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Werts now ranks ninth in program history for goals in a career with 16.
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Rine Yonaha recorded a career-high five points on two goals and one assist. This is the first multi-goal game of her career.
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These were the first two goals of the season for Yonaha, and the fifth and sixth goals of her career.
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Austin Miller’s goal was her third of the season and the seventh of her career.
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Kaylie Chambers, Austin Miller and Carli Conner each had two assists in the game.
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Chambers now has 20 assists in her career, moving into sole possession of second in career assists in program history.
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Utah State out-shot Fresno State 18-1, including an 11-1 advantage in shots on goal.
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Fresno State’s first shot of the match didn’t come until the 50th minute.
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Werts took a team-high four shots, all four of which were goals.
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Graduate keeper Taylor Rath played all 90 minutes in net for Utah State, recording one save.
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With the win, Utah State improves to 10-9-5 all-time against Fresno State, including a 6-2-2 mark against the Bulldogs in Logan.
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With the win, Utah State extends its home unbeaten streak to 25 matches.
UP NEXT
Utah State (5-5-4, 2-1-2 MW) will have a bye this weekend, then head on the road for two more conference games next week, beginning on Thursday, Oct. 16, when the Aggies face New Mexico at 7 p.m.
