OREM, Utah — Junior
Skyler Milne recorded the first-ever hat trick in Utah Valley University men's soccer history, leading Wolverines to a 3-2 win over San José State Friday night at Clyde Field.
With the win, Utah Valley improves to 11-3-0 on the season and 4-1-0 in WAC play. The victory keeps the Wolverines tied atop the WAC table with Seattle U with 12 points. The Spartans fall to 4-8-0 overall and 2-2-0 in the WAC.
"We had a very good first half and scored a couple of goals which allowed the team to relax and play well," said Utah Valley head coach
Greg Maas. "I thought we started to take it at San José State but credit to them as they came out in the second half and continued to fight. They got back two goals and made it a great game. We persevered and I couldn't be more proud of our guys."
Milne put the Wolverines on the scoreboard in the 13th minute as he received a lead pass in the box from
Paul Hoffmeister and put it in the right corner of the net to give UVU a 1-0 lead.
Milne found the back of the net just six minutes later -- in the 19th minute -- after rebounding a
Karson Payton shot and punching it into the back of the net.
The Spartans fought their way back in thouugh, cutting into the UVU lead in the 58th minute when Jonathan Colunga received a pass from Uriel Ayala on the left side of the box and connected on the goal with his left foot. SJSU tied the game in the 74th minute after Luis Vargas sent a 23-yard free kick off the left post and into the net for the equalizer.
The game-winner came in the 88th minute after Milne was fouled in the box and converted the ensuing penalty kick to secure the hat trick, and the win. Milne's three goals are the fourth, fifth and sixth of the season.
"Skyler's been fantastic for us all year," said Maas. "For him to get a hat trick today was something special. There is a lot of stress and anxiety that comes with a penalty kick with two minutes to go and he was the right person tonight. He was well-deserving today."
Utah Valley now travels to play CSU Bakersfield on Sunday. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. PT/2 p.m. MT.
