OREM, Utah – Austin Buxton scored two goals as Utah Valley University opened its home schedule with a 4-1 win over Bradley on Friday night at Clyde Field. The win came in front of a record crowd of 3,452 for UVU on day one of the Holiday Inn Express Invitational.
Karson Payton and
Skyler Milne also scored for the Wolverines, who moved to 5-0 on the year and remain one of 12 teams in the country perfect on the young season after Friday's action.
"We knew tonight was going to be a tough game. Bradley's a well-respected program, they're well-coached and they play a style that is challenging," said UVU head coach
Greg Maas. "Buxton coming off the bench provided us incredible energy. He was player of the match today. He was fantastic."
Buxton and Payton both scored goals within three minutes of each other to give the Wolverines a 2-0 lead in the first half. Buxton secured a loose ball just outside the 18 and scored into the lower right corner from 20 yards out in the 39th minute.
Payton scored in the 41st minute on an
Alex Neff assist. Neff's header from the far half of field led Payton perfectly between two Bradley defenders. Goalkeeper Logan Ketterer gambled and tried to beat Payton to the ball high in the box but the Wolverine sophomore was able to get to it and put it away for his second goal of the season.
Buxton's second goal gave UVU a 3-0 lead in the 59th minute. He took a pass near midfield and beat a pair of defenders, firing a goal into the left corner from just inside the 18.
The Braves (3-2-0) scored off of a free kick in the 67th minute, with Jacob Taylor's header on a pass from Frank Bak getting the visitors on the board.
Milne iced it for Utah Valley, scoring on a header of his own off an
Aaron Meyer free kick to give the Wolverines the 4-1 advantage with less than 10 minutes to go. Meyer's assist was his third on the year while Buxton's brace gives him three goals on the season.
The Wolverines will wrap up the weekend against Mercer on Sunday at 1 p.m. MT while UNLV, which defeated Mercer 2-0 in Friday's first contest, will face Bradley on Sunday at 10:30 a.m.
