#2 Utah Valley vs. #4 Seattle U (WAC Tournament Championship)
Sunday, Nov. 5 | 1 p.m. MT
GCU Soccer Stadium | Phoenix, Arizona
Live Video (WAC DN) | StatBroadcast | UVU Match Notes | WAC Tournament Bracket
UTAH VALLEY ENTERS WAC TOURNAMENT PLAY AS NO. 2 SEED, WILL TAKE ON SIXTH-SEEDED GRAND CANYON
Utah Valley defeated host Grand Canyon in the semifinals of the WAC Tournament, 1-0, on Friday night to advance to Sunday's championship match against No. 3 Seattle U. Sunday's game will be a rematch of the 2015 title match between the two schools, a game that Utah Valley won to earn its first-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament.
Utah Valley (10-11) had its five-game win streak snapped last week in a 2-1 setback at Seattle U in the team's regular season finale. The Wolverines did defeat Seattle U, 3-0, in a non-conference match at Clyde Field on Sept. 30. The Wolverines head into Sunday's championship match having won six of their last seven games.
The Wolverines hold an all-time 5-3 record at the WAC Tournament since joining the league in 2013. Utah Valley went 1-1 at the tournament last year with a win over NM State and a loss in the semifinals to eventual champion Seattle U.
Breanna DeWaal leads the Wolverines with nine goals this season. Breanna McCarter has seven goals this year, including the game winner against Grand Canyon in the WAC Tournament semifinal match on Friday night. Amber Tripp has five goals. DeWaal also leads the Wolverines with 73 shots, including a team-best 38 shots on goal. DeWaal and Tori Smith lead the team with six assists apiece. Nielsen leads the team in the box with an 9-7 record and four shutouts. She has 44 saves and owns a .677 save percentage on the season.
As a team, Utah Valley has netted 33 goals while allowing opponents 30. The Wolverines average 15.0 shots a match with a .498 shots on goal percentage. The Wolverines are holding opponents to a 1.43 goals per game average. UVU also holds a 315-225 shots advantage and a 146-98 edge on corner kicks.
UVU AT THE WAC TOURNAMENT
The Wolverines now hold an all-time 5-3 record at the WAC Tournament since joining the league in 2013. Utah Valley went 1-1 at the tournament last year with a win over New Mexico State in the first round and a 2-1 setback to eventual champion Seattle U in the semifinals. UVU enters a WAC Tournament championship match for the second time in its history. The team holds an all-time 1-0 record in WAC Championship matches after defeating Seattle U, 2-0, in 2015.
All-Time UVU WAC Tournament Results
Nov. 8, 2013 First Round #2 UMKC 2, #3 Utah Valley 0 (Las Cruces, N.M.)
Nov. 6, 2014 First Round #3 Utah Valley 2, #6 UTRGV 1 - ot (Seattle, Wash.)
Nov. 7, 2014 Semifinals #2 UMKC 1, #3 Utah Valley 0 (Seattle, Wash.)
Nov. 6, 2015 Semifinals #2 Utah Valley 2, #3 UMKC 0 (Bakersfield, Calif.)
Nov. 8, 2015 Championship #2 Utah Valley 2, #1 Seattle U 0 (Bakersfield, Calif.)
Nov. 3, 2016 First Round #4 Utah Valley 2, #5 New Mexico State 0 (Kansas City, Mo.)
Nov. 4, 2016 Semifinals #1 Seattle U 2, #4 Utah Valley 1 (Kansas City, Mo.)
Nov. 3, 2017 Semifinals #2 Utah Valley 1, #6 Grand Canyon 0 (Phoenix, Ariz.)
BROADCAST INFO
Sunday's WAC Championship match against Seattle U will be broadcast live on the WAC Digital Network at WACsports.com/live. Michael Potter and Jordan Angeli will be handling the play-by-play and color duties.
SIX WOLVERINES EARN POSTSEASON WAC HONORS
The Utah Valley University women's soccer team was well represented at the Western Athletic Conference awards banquet in Phoenix on Tuesday night as six Wolverines received WAC postseason honors.
Utah Valley freshman forward Amber Tripp was named the WAC's Freshman of the Year. UVU sophomore midfielder Breanna DeWaal and sophomore defender Hannah Bruce received first team all-WAC honors, while junior forward Breanna McCarter, senior forward Tori Smith, and senior midfielder Libby Weber were named to the all-WAC second team.
ABOUT SEATTLE U
Seattle U enters Saturday night's match with a 8-8-3 overall record. The fourth-seeded Redhawks defeated top-seeded Kansas City, 1-0, on Friday in the semifinals to advance to the team's fifth-straight WAC Tournament championship match. Seattle U won the championship last season and has won three of the last four conference championships. UVU defeated SU to claim the 2015 championship. The Redhawks defeated a Kansas City team in the semifinals that had won eight-straight matches, including a sweep of this year's WAC regular season schedule to claim the 2017 regular season title. Jessie Ray leads the Redhawks with eight goals this season, followed closely by Leahi Manthei who has seven. Ashley Routh, who is now back from injury, owns a perfect 4-0 record in goal, all of which are shutout victories.
SERIES HISTORY VS. SEATTLE U
Utah Valley and Seattle U meet on the pitch for the 17th time on Sunday afternoon. Seattle U holds an all-time 13-2-1 advantage over UVU. After dropping eight straight matches to the Redhawks, Utah Valley was finally able to tie SU 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 (Sept. 30) in a non-conference match. Seattle U then returned the favor with a 2-0 win in Seattle on Oct. 28 in the regular season finale.
All-Time Results vs. Seattle U (SU leads series 13-2-1)
Oct. 27, 2008 Seattle U def. Utah Valley, 1-0 Orem, Utah
Aug. 28, 2009 Seattle U def. Utah Valley, 2-0 Moscow, Idaho
Sept. 29, 2010 Seattle U def. Utah Valley, 2-1 Seattle, Wash.
Sept. 23, 2012 Seattle U def. Utah Valley, 4-2 Seattle, Wash.
Oct. 6, 2013 Seattle U def. Utah Valley, 2-0 Orem, Utah
Oct. 18, 2013 Seattle U def. Utah Valley, 3-0 Seattle, Wash.
Sept. 28, 2014 Seattle U def. Utah Valley, 2-1 Seattle, Wash.
Nov. 1, 2014 Seattle U def. Utah Valley, 2-0 Orem, Utah
Sept. 26, 2015 Utah Valley ties Seattle U, 1-1 (2OT) Orem, Utah
Oct. 31, 2015 Seattle U def. Utah Valley, 1-0 Seattle, Wash.
Nov. 8, 2015 Utah Valley def. Seattle U, 2-0 Bakersfield, Calif.
Oct. 1, 2016 Seattle U def. Utah Valley, 1-0 Seattle, Wash.
Oct. 28, 2016 Seattle U def. Utah Valley, 3-1 Orem, Utah
Nov. 4, 2016 Seattle U def. Utah Valley, 2-1 Kansas City, Mo.
Sept. 30, 2017 Utah Valley def. Seattle U, 3-0 Orem, Utah
Oct. 28, 2017 Seattle U def. Utah Valley, 2-0 Seattle, Wash.
SCORING MACHINE
Utah Valley has scored 19 goals over its last seven matches--an average of 2.7 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, CSU Bakersfield 1-0, and Grand Canyon, 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 19,000 miles this season. The team is playing in its 11th different state of the season this week at the WAC Tournament in Arizona. 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 15 of their 21 matches away from Clyde Field. UVU holds a 4-10-0 road record and a 1-0-0 record at a neutral site this season. Friday's match at Grand Canyon marked the team's 15th game of the year away from Orem,
UVU IN THE CORNER
The Wolverines have attempted 146 corner kicks this season -- the seventh most in the country. The team is also 13th in the nation in corner kicks per game this year at 6.90 per match. The Wolverines lead the WAC in both categories.
SERVING OTHERS
Utah Valley ranks 24th in the nation with 37 assists this season. The Wolverines' 37 assists ranks the team second in the WAC behind NM State's 37 helpers this season. Breanna DeWaal and Tori Smith are tied for the team lead with six assists apiece. The six assists ties the pair for second in the WAC.
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 315 shots this season and also ranks first in the league in shots per game at 15.0 per match. The team leads the WAC and is tied for 15th nationally with 152 shots on goal and is tied for 39th in the country in shots on goal per game at 7.68.
