Utah Valley at Seattle U
Saturday, Oct. 28 | 8 p.m. MT
Championship Field | Seattle, Washington
Live Video (WAC DN) | StatBroadcast | UVU Match Notes
UTAH VALLEY WRAPS UP WAC PLAY ON SATURDAY AT SEATTLE U
The Utah Valley University women's soccer team plays its final regular season match of the year as the team wraps up league play at Seattle U on Saturday at Championship Field. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. (MT). The game marks the final tune-up for UVU prior to next week's WAC Tournament in Phoenix.
The Wolverines have won five straight matches dating back to a 9-0 shutout at Chicago State on Oct. 8. UVU then won a pair of home matches over New Mexico State and UT Rio Grande Valley before defeating Grand Canyon at home and CSU Bakersfield on the road last week. Breanna DeWaal scored both of the game winners last week as the Wolverines claimed a 1-0 win over GCU and a 1-0 victory at CSUB. Brooklyn Nielsen was named WAC Defensive Player of the Week after picking up the two shutout victories in goal as she registered seven saves on the 15 shots she faced. The two wins secured the No. 2 seed and first-round bye at the upcoming WAC Tournament in Phoenix, Arizona, Nov. 1-5.
DeWaal leads the Wolverines in goals (9), points (24), shots (63), shots on goal (33), and game winners (4). She also is tied with Tori Smith for the team lead in assists with six. Breanna McCarter ranks second on the team in both goals (6) and points (16). Freshman Amber Tripp has five goals, Smith and Sydney Fitzpatrick have four apiece, while Libby Weber has two. Doriana Moul and Ashlyn Farnes each have one goal this season.
The Wolverine defense has four shutouts this year, including two straight with last week's wins over GCU and CSUB. The UVU defense has allowed teams an average of only 10.3 shots per game with a shots on goal percentage of .426. Sophomore keeper Brooklyn Nielsen has led the Wolverines in the box with an 8-6-0 record. She has 34 saves with a .642 save percentage.
BROADCAST INFO
Saturday night's match at Seattle U will be broadcast live on the WAC Digital Network at WACsports.com/live. The WAC Digital Network will broadcast over 60 games this season including all five games of the 2017 WAC Women's Soccer Tournament in Phoenix, Arizona, Nov. 1-5.
ABOUT SEATTLE U
Seattle U enters Saturday night's match with a 6-8-3 overall record and a 2-2-2 WAC mark. The Redhawks are 1-3-2 at home this season. SU has secured a spot in next week's WAC Tournament after going 1-0-1 last week. The Redhawks defeated CSU Bakersfield at home, 1-0, before picking up a 0-0 double-overtime tie at Grand Canyon. The win over CSUB was the team's first home win of the season. Senior defender Stephanie Spiekerman scored the game winner against CSUB, while sophomore keeper Ashley Routh picked up the two shutouts in goal. Sophomore forward Jessie Ray leads the team with seven goals and 16 points. Freshman forward Leahi Manthei has helped with six goals and 13 points.
SERIES HISTORY VS. SEATTLE U
Utah Valley and Seattle U meet on the pitch for the 16th time on Saturday evening. Seattle U holds an all-time 12-1-1 advantage over UVU. After dropping eight straight matches to the Redhawks, Utah Valley was finally able to tie things up in a double overtime match in 2015. The Wolverines then picked up their first-ever win over SU in the 2015 WAC Tournament championship match, defeating the Redhawks 2-0 to claim the team's first-ever WAC soccer title. Since UVU picked up the win in the 2015 WAC Tournament title match, Seattle U won three straight matches over the Wolverines before Utah Valley defeated the Redhawks, 3-0, earlier this year in a non-conference match. Seattle U holds an all-time 6-0-0 record against UVU in matches played at Championship Field in Seattle.
BROOKLYN NIELSEN NAMED WAC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Utah Valley's Brooklyn Nielsen has been named the Western Athletic Conference Women's Defensive Player of the Week for Oct. 16-22. The honor marks the third time in her career that Nielsen has earned the award. Nielsen, a sophomore goalkeeper from Sandy, Utah, led the Utah Valley defense to a pair of shutout victories over Grand Canyon and CSU Bakersfield to help her team clinch the No. 2 seed at the upcoming WAC Tournament. She made five saves in the win over Grand Canyon. She also registered a pair of key saves in the 1-0 shutout victory at CSU Bakersfield on Sunday. Over the two matches, she played in all 180 minutes in the box and faced 15 shots.
SCORING MACHINE
Utah Valley has scored 18 goals over its last five matches--an average of 3.6 goals per match. Since shutting out Chicago State on the road, 9-0, Utah Valley has continued its scoring spree, defeating New Mexico State 5-2, UTRGV 2-1, Grand Canyon 1-0, and CSU Bakersfield 1-0. Utah Valley's nine goals at Chicago State are the fifth most scored in a single match this season in the nation.
ROAD TRIPPIN'
Utah Valley has logged over 18,000 miles this season. The team is playing in its 10th different state this year on Saturday. Utah Valley spent nearly a month on the road before the team opened its home slate against Wyoming on Sept. 8. UVU opened the season with a pair of matches in Hawaii. The team then traveled to Las Vegas, Northridge, California, Tulsa, and Tulsa, Oklahoma. The team then wrapped up non-conference play at Texas A&M in College Station, Texas. UVU finished its non-conference games away from Clyde Field with a 2-8 record. The Wolverines have played 13 of their 19 matches away from Clyde Field. UVU holds a 3-9-0 road record and a 1-0-0 record at a neutral site this season. Last week's match at CSUB marked the team's 13th game of the year away from Orem, Utah.
UVU IN THE CORNER
The Wolverines have attempted 130 corner kicks this season -- the sixth most in the country. The team is also 13th in the nation in corner kicks per game this year at 6.84 per match. The Wolverines lead the WAC in both categories.
INJURY BUGS
Utah Valley has lost four players to injury this season, including Alexis Peterson, Sara Callister, Sheridan Fox, and Sadie Brockbank. Peterson led UVU with five goals last season, while Callister scored two and Fox had one. In 2015, Fox led UVU with eight goals while Callister tallied three.
TAKING IT TO OVERTIME
Utah Valley has played five overtime games this season. The Wolverines opened the season with a 2-1 loss at Hawaii in overtime. The team then dropped back-to-back 2-1 overtime decisions at UNLV and at CSUN. The Wolverines also lost in double overtime at home to Washington State, 3-2. UVU picked up its first overtime win of the year, defeating UTRGV 2-1 in the first overtime.
SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS
Utah Valley leads the WAC with 289 shots this season and also ranks first in the league in shots per game at 15.2 per match. The team leads the WAC and is tied for 11th nationally with 146 shots on goal and is tied for 37th in the country in shots on goal per game at 7.68.
CLYDE FIELD MAGIC
Utah Valley holds an impressive 71-34-10 all time record at Clyde Field. The team has lost just five matches over the past four seasons on the home pitch. UVU went 5-2-1 at home last season, including a double overtime tie against in-state rival Utah and wins over Southern Utah, UNLV, Grand Canyon, Chicago State and UMKC. The Wolverines were unbeaten at home during the 2015 season with a 9-0-1 mark. UVU went an impressive 5-1-0 at home this season with wins over Wyoming, Seattle U, New Mexico State, UTRGV, and Grand Canyon. UVU ranks 34th nationally in attendance, averaging 846 fans per match.
