No. 16 UTAH VALLEY OPENS SEASON VS NO. 16/13 AKRON
Utah Valley University, ranked No. 16 by TopDrawerSoccer.com, opens the 2017 season against national power Akron on Friday at 7 p.m. MT at Clyde Field. Akron enters ranked in every major poll to start the season, including No. 16 by the United Soccer Coaches and No. 13 by TopDrawerSoccer.com. 

Friday's match marks the second straight season opener pitting a pair of ranked teams against one another at Clyde Field. Then No. 24 UVU edged 20th-ranked Washington, 2-1, to open the 2016 season. Both Wolverine goals came from Paul Hoffmeister, beginning an All-American campaign that helped the now-senior garner a spot on the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List, a first for the UVU program. 

"Akron is undeniably one of the top programs in the country — they're richly talented, experienced, and they will present a tremendous challenge and opportunity for our program," said UVU head coach Greg Maas. "We have one of the best environments in college soccer at Clyde Field, and I know our players can't wait to ride the momentum of our 12th Wolverines as they protect The Den!"

KEY RETURNERS
Hoffmeister, who was also named a preseason first-team All-American by College Soccer News and to TopDrawerSoccer.com's Bext XI third team, was joined on the preseason All-WAC team by Giovanny Vazquez. Those two headline a list of eight returning starters including seniors Connor Salmon, Karson Payton, and Nic Harguindeguy, each of whom started at least 15 games last year. Harguideguy and Vazquez are the two returners to have started all 20 matches in 2016. 

KEY LOSSES
The Wolverines lost just three starters from last season's WAC Championship squad, but those absences won't go unnoticed. All three were All-WAC selections with Skyler Milne -- now with the Real Monarchs -- and Alex Neff finishing their careers with Aaron Meyer opting to serve an LDS mission. Neff was a three-time first-team All-WAC defender while Milne finished with eight goals as a senior and 20 for his career. In his first two seasons, Meyer recorded 21 assists, which led the nation over the course of the 2015 and 2016 campaigns and also rank second in the WAC's all-time record book. The Wolverines will also be without All-WAC and All-West Region goalkeeper Mitch Jensen, who is out for the year due to injury. 

ABOUT AKRON
Akron is coming off of its 31st NCAA Tournament appearance and 13th Mid-American Conference Championship in 2016. The Zips were the preseason pick to again win the MAC title behind senior Sam Gainford, who leads a list of seven returning starters. Gainford, who hails from Liverpool, England, was named to the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List along with Hoffmeister. The Zips will also play at #3/6 Denver on Monday during their western trip. 

COMING UP
The Wolverines will host CSUN next Friday, Sept. 1 at 7 p.m. MT at Clyde Field before a two-match swing through Southern California at Cal State Fullerton (Sept. 8) and San Diego State (Sept. 10). 

JOIN THE DEN!
UVU Students receive free admission to all regular season NCAA DI sporting events at UVU. In order to get into the games, students must register to get their Den Pass. The Den is the Student Section at UVU. All students must have a Den Pass in order to get into games. To register for your Den Pass, go to GoUVU.com/TheDen!