Franchise first: Utah college soccer stars cap inaugural season with national title

PROVO — Utah United never set out to win a league title in its first year in franchise history.

But that's exactly what they did Saturday night.

McKenzie Evans-Tostado, Seven Castain, Lilliah Blum and Ruby Hladek all scored as Utah won a USL W League championship with a 4-0 win over defending champion North Carolina Courage U23 at BYU's South Field.

The loss was the first of the year for the Courage (13-1-3), which was playing in its third consecutive W League final.

But for Utah United (13-1), it was the chance to make history in going from an expansion team in the 93-team pre-professional W League scattered across the continental United States in four conferences and 15 divisions.

"There aren't a lot of people who get to compete for national championships at any level," said Castain, who set a Utah high school record with 71 goals en route to 2A MVP honors at Waterford. "To get this opportunity, and to do it at home with all of our family and friends surrounding us was amazing."

For Utah United head coach Scott Halasz, the former Utah and Washington State assistant who is heavily involved in local club soccer, the initial aim for a group that had never played together before tryouts in January was more simple: provide a high-quality training environment for dozens of returning college soccer players who just wanted to be home for the summer (and a few local college players who stuck around the Beehive State).

Quality training, and several strong friendships were a championship-winning formula.

"The girls just love being around each other," Halasz said. "It started from day one, and we just had to foster it and keep it going. But I was blessed to work with these young women."

The group included several names that local college soccer fans know, like BYU's Ellie Walbruch, who was named championship final MVP after contributing to Utah's first two goals; Castain, the All-Big 12 striker at TCU who grew up in Draper; and Hladek, the former American Fork and BYU standout who will be a senior at Utah Valley in the fall.

It also combined a few names that only the most die-hard fans might know, like Utah State goalkeeper Taylor Rath, a graduate transfer from Las Vegas via Pepperdine; starting center back Kaitlyn Richins, the Layton native who was a star at Utah State and will transfer to Connecticut for her final NCAA season; and Evans-Tostado — the former Lone Peak and BYU-Hawaii standout who moved from striker to outside back with the team after the birth of her third child.

Through training sessions and road trips to Colorado, the only USL W team in Utah bonded quickly, Walbruch noted — both on and off the field.

"Growing off the field made us that much better on the field. We've known each other since I was little, and just being familiar with each other really helped us.

"Utah homegrowns; that's all I have to say."

It was the former Kenzie Evans who gave United a 1-0 lead at halftime, lacing a screamer into the top shelf after Walbruch's initial attempt on frame was deflected to her feet just outside the penalty box in the 37th minute.

Castain doubled the advantage in the 53rd minute with a tap-in from Walbruch for her 21st goal of the season.

A few moments later, Blum — the Utah rising senior who had as second assist on Castain's goal — then converted off a defensive error to stretch the host's lead to 3-0 in the 55th minute.

By the 60th minute when Hladek finished a corner kick from Lucy Kesler, the rout was on for Utah United.

"I think we've got a lot of depth, and we were able to come in after they prepared for a team that they played in the first half — and we had a different team in the second half, with fresh legs and new energy," Castain said. "We came out really strong, and they weren't ready for it.

"We did a really good job of utilizing our depth to our advantage."

With limited training opportunities due to travel schedules — Utah United's playoff run moved from the Western Conference finals in Stockton, California, to Eagan, Minnesota in last week's USL W semifinals — the club bonded even closer.

"I think the results speak for themselves," Rath said. "Our chemistry from day one and our first game, we've carried ourselves so well throughout.

"Every person played their part, and that was really important for getting the result tonight."

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