OREM, Utah – Utah Valley University earned three much-needed points with a 2-0 win over Houston Baptist University on Thursday night in Western Athletic Conference men's soccer.
 
The win pushes the Wolverines (5-8-2, 2-3-2) into sixth in the conference standings with eight points, with the bulk of the league in action on Friday. The top seven teams qualify for the WAC Tournament at UNLV in November.
 
"I want to recognize and applaud our senior leadership for rallying the group and taking ownership of the direction that we're headed," said UVU head coach Greg Maas. "Full credit goes to the players, their hard work in training, and their focus and determination in these matches. We're moving forward and the guys are confident, which is vital as we head into these final three matches with a WAC Tournament berth on the table."
 
Alec Felix gave the Wolverines a 1-0 lead in the ninth minute when he rebounded a saved header by Giovanny Vazquez on a well-placed Connor Salmon corner kick. Vazquez' header short-hopped goalkeeper Harrison Veith and ricocheted to his left, when Felix got his toe on it and poked the ball just across the goal line, where it hit an HBU defender. The shot was ruled good for Felix's second goal of the season and turned out to be the game-winner. 
 
Utah Valley added a goal in the 33rd minute when Joe Barakat's cross to the far post bounced once and past a diving Veith and found Austin Buxton, who headed the ball into the open goal. Zach Maas also picked up an assist on the goal, which was Buxton's first of the season and first since 2015 after he redshirted the 2016 season due to cancer treatment.
 
"It was an emotional goal," Buxton said. "There was pressure, that I put on myself, but it was going to come eventually. That was probably the biggest win that we've had here. It was nice to show up today and get that W."
 
The Wolverines had a decided edge on the stat sheet, with 26 total shots and nine shots on goal. The Huskies had just four attempts, three coming on goal, with Joseph Wheelwright recording three saves and earning the clean sheet for UVU.
 
Utah Valley will hit the road for the final time in the WAC regular season next week with games at UNLV (Oct. 27) and Grand Canyon (Oct. 29). The regular season finale is Saturday, Nov. 4 at home against No. 25 Seattle U.