Bright like a Diamond: Utah State women’s soccer rolls to 4-0 win over No. 13 BYU

SALT LAKE CITY — There’s a new top dog in Utah college soccer.

And it came from the winning team Thursday night.

Summer Diamond had a goal and an assist, and Utah State scored four goals through four different goal scorers to upset 13th-ranked BYU, 4-0 in front of a sold-out crowd at Chuck and Gloria Bell Field in Logan.

Ivy Nystrom made two saves to keep the shutout for the Aggies (5-2-1), the fourth of the year for the sophomore from Phoenix to help Utah State improve to 4-2-2 since Manny Martins was hired as head coach in 2021. Prior to his arrival, BYU dominated the in-state series with a 15-0-0 record under legendary head coach Jennifer Rockwood.

Things are a little different now in Logan. At least, they were on Thursday night for a matchup of perennial NCAA Tournament teams in front of 3,181 fans — the most to ever pack Bell Field, and all of them wearing at least one shade of blue.

“We’ve been having some ups and downs through the season to this point. The highs were really high, the lows weren’t so low but there were some inconsistencies,” Martins said after the match. “And today was obviously one of the best performances we’ve had to this point in the season.

“BYU is a great team,” he added, “Jen’s done a fantastic job, and today we were able to nullify anything they tried to do. To get four goals against a team like that is a really good performance and also a testament to the quality of our players … I’m really happy. Now we’ve got to keep building on it.”

Buoyed by Martins and the confidence of Utah State’s recent run against their rivals from Provo, including a 1-0 upset the last time the then-No. 1-ranked Cougars visited the Cache Valley in 2023, the Aggies started fast — and never let up, pouring 22 shots including six at the double-goalkeeper tandem of Chelsea Peterson and Paiton Collins.

Summer Sofonia opened the scoring in the 10th minute for Utah State, nodding home her first goal of the season off a cross from Lila Emmetsberger following a short corner kick played by Summer Diamond that put the Aggies up 1-0 in front of a sold-out Bell Field.

Utah State out-shot BYU 10-2 in the first half, and held the Cougars to a single shot on target before the break — a 22nd-minute rip by Sophie Sivulich that Nystrom handled with relative ease.

Diamond, the senior from Ogden’s Bonneville High who scored the lone goal of the match in the 50th minute as a freshman, doubled the advantage less than three minutes after halftime, striking bright with a breakaway before finishing off her left foot in the 48th minute to give the Aggies the 2-0 advantage.

SUMMER DIAMOND, WHAT A GOAL ‼️💎

Aggies up 2️⃣ – 0️⃣ in the 48th minute! #AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/dSRRbW75fB

— USU Soccer (@USUSoccer) September 11, 2026

“I think we came out with some crazy energy, and it was something we were really proud of,” Diamond said. “Going into the game, we know they are a really good team; a lot of respect for them. They made us work hard. But I think we kept to our principles and what we wanted to do. Obviously, we did that — and it was awesome.”

But Utah State wasn’t done.

Solena Sellers picked up a loose-ball turnover near BYU’s goal in the 68th minute, and the Lone Peak High alumna struck a wide shot inside the far post to stretch the Aggies’ lead to 3-0.

Victoria Espinoza finished off the scoring late, redirecting a corner kick from BYU transfer Mia Lopez in the 88th minute to seal the final margin two minutes before the sellout crowd of pitch invaders trampled the grass under the lights at Bell Field.

Utah State in the record book

The win is the Aggies’ largest margin of victory against a ranked opponent in program history, and doubles the previous goal-scoring high in a win over BYU all-time: a 2-1 win Aug. 31, 2024 in Provo and a 2-1 overtime victory Sept. 18, 2021.

With the win, Utah State improved to 4-0 against in-state competition by an aggregate score of 14-1 against the Cougars, Utah Tech, Utah and Utah Valley. The Aggies won’t play Weber State — the only other NCAA Division I women’s soccer team in Utah — in 2026.

“Utah State’s had a great run these last five years; Manny has done a phenomenal job with this program,” Rockwood told BYU Radio before the match. “They’re on the national map right now, topping their conference, and getting into the NCAAs. They’ve had our number the last few years.”

Ain’t no party like a BELL FIELD PARTY! pic.twitter.com/a4cDt0A7xS

— USU Soccer (@USUSoccer) September 11, 2026

Next up for BYU, Utah State women’s soccer

Wednesday was the Cougars’ nonconference finale, and they’ll open Big 12 play next Friday, Sept. 18 at Arizona (8 p.m. MT, ESPN+).

They’ll do so without Ellie Walbruch, the All-American forward who had surgery to repair a torn ACL on Tuesday. After leading BYU with 16 goals in 24 appearances en route to the NCAA Tournament’s round of 16, the bulk of BYU’s offensive punch will lie on another pair of shoulders.

Utah State bounced back from a 2-0 loss to No. 24 Colorado on Sunday to collect the Aggies’ fourth win over their in-state rivals in six years. They’ll continue nonconference play with a home match Sunday against South Dakota State (1 p.m. MT, Pac-12 YouTube), followed a pair of matches against Idaho State and Saint Mary’s before opening Pac-12 play Oct. 1 against Texas State.