Utah Valley at #1 Stanford (NCAA Tournament)
Saturday, Nov. 11 | 8 p.m. MT
Laird Q. Cagan Stadium | Stanford, Calif.
Live Video (Stanford Facebook) | Live Stats | UVU Match Notes | NCAA Tournament Bracket
UTAH VALLEY TAKES ON TOP-SEEDED AND NO.1-RANKED STANFORD IN FIRST ROUND OF NCAA TOURNAMENT
Utah Valley travels to California to take on No. 1 Stanford in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday night at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium.
Utah Valley (10-11-1) and Stanford (18-1-0) will face off on Saturday, Nov. 11 at 8 p.m. MT at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium in Stanford, Calif. The NCAA Tournament match will mark the first time the two teams have met on the pitch.
UVU heads into NCAA Tournament play after earning its conference's automatic bid at the WAC Tournament in Phoenix, Arizona last week. The Wolverines earned the No. 2 seed and a first round bye at the tournament and then knocked off tournament host Grand Canyon and Seattle U en route to its second WAC title in three years.
The Wolverines make their second appearance in the NCAA Tournament after capturing the WAC Tournament Championship on Sunday afternoon in a penalty kick shootout against Seattle U. The win earned Utah Valley its second trip to the NCAA Tournament in the past three years. UVU made its first-ever appearance in the tournament in 2015.
Stanford won its third consecutive Pac-12 championship this past season after compiling a perfect 11-0 league record. The team earned the NCAA Tournament's No. 1 overall seed as the team makes its 27th NCAA Tournament appearance and 20th in a row. Stanford has hosted the first four rounds in eight of the past nine years, advancing to the College Cup in six of those seasons. The Cardinal enters Saturday's NCAA Tournament match against UVU with a 16-game win streak.
BROADCAST INFO
Saturday night's NCAA Tournament first round match at Stanford will be broadcast live on Stanford's Facebook page at Facebook.com/stanfordwsoccer. Troy Clardy will be handling the play-by-play duties. UVU fans can also listen to a live broadcast of the match on ESPN 960 AM radio with Brandon Crow on the call. The radio broadcast will also be streamed live at ESPN960Sports.com.
UVU AT THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
The Wolverines hold an all-time 0-1 record at the NCAA Tournament. Utah Valley made its first trip to the tournament in 2015, dropping a 1-0 decision at crosstown rival BYU in the first round. Saturday will mark the team's second appearance at the tournament.
All-Time UVU WAC Tournament Results
Nov. 14, 2015 First Round BYU 1, Utah Valley 0 (Provo, Utah)
ABOUT STANFORD
Stanford (18-1-0 overall) enters NCAA tournament play on a 16-game win streak having clinched its third straight Pac-12 Championship. The team earned the top seed in the tournament field and is the No. 1 ranked team in the country, according to the national polls. The Cardinal had 11 players named All-Pac-12, including Offensive Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year Catarina Macario, Defender of the Year Tierna Davidson and Midfielder of the Year Andi Sullivan. Paul Ratcliffe was also named Pac-12 Coach for a third-straight year. Stanford is extremely comfortable on its home pitch. The Cardinal owns a perfect record at home this season, going 10-0-0. Stanford is making its 26th appearance at the NCAA Tournament. The team's lone NCAA title came in 2011 after finishing as national runners-up in both 2009 and 2010.
UVU WINS SECOND WAC TOURNAMENT TITLE IN THREE YEARS
Utah Valley tied Seattle U, 1-1, in double overtime and then claimed the 2017 WAC Women's Soccer Tournament championship 3-1 in penalty Kicks to earn the team's second WAC tournament title in the last three years.
Trailing 1-0 in the final minute of regulation, UVU's Breanna McCarter passed the ball into the box where UVU's Siri Dahl got a foot on it to score her first career UVU goal to tie the game, 1-1, and force the match into overtime.
Both teams went scoreless in the two 10-minute overtime periods to send the match to penalty kicks. UVU's Brooklyn Nielsen forced three Seattle U misses while Breanna DeWaal, Libby Weber, and Tori Smith went a perfect 3-for-3 to lift the Wolverines to the 3-1-penalty kick advantage.
Utah Valley outshot Seattle U 20-11 on the day, including a 5-2 advantage on goal. The Wolverines registered seven corner kicks to SU's three. McCarter led UVU with a match-high six shots, including two on net. Smith had five, while Amber Tripp and Hannah Bruce each had two. Nielsen played all 110 minutes in goal, tallying one save on the day. She faced 11 Seattle U shots.
DEWAAL NAMED WAC TOURNAMENT MVP, FITZPATRICK, MCCARTER, AND NIELSEN EARN ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM HONORS
Utah Valley's Beanna DeWaal was named the WAC Tournament MVP. She also earned a spot on the all-tournament team, along with teammates Sydney Fitzpatrick, McCarter, and Neilsen
ALL TOURNAMENT TEAM
Nikki Lynch, Sr., MF/F, Kansas City
Sydni Young, Sr., D/MF, Kansas City
McKenzie Cook, Jr., MF/F, Grand Canyon
Mikaela McGee, Fr., F, Grand Canyon
Natasha Howe, R-Sr., MF/F, Seattle U
Madeline Racine, R-Jr., D, Seattle U
Stephanie Spiekerman, Sr., D, Seattle U
Sydney Fitzpatrick, Sr., F, Utah Valley
Breanna McCarter, R-Jr., F, Utah Valley
Brooklyn Nielsen, So., GK, Utah Valley
Breanna DeWaal, So., MF, Utah Valley - MVP
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.
SCORING MACHINE
Utah Valley has scored 20 goals over its last eight matches--an average of 2.5 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 has played in 11 different states of the season. 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 16 of their 22 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. Saturday's match at Stanford marked the team's 16th game of the year away from Orem.
UVU IN THE CORNER
The Wolverines have attempted 146 corner kicks this season -- the fifth-most in the country. The team is also 13th in the nation in corner kicks per game this year at 6.95 per match. The Wolverines lead the WAC in both categories.
SERVING OTHERS
Utah Valley is tied for 18th in the nation with 39 assists this season. The Wolverines' 39 assists ranks the team first in the WAC. 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.
TAKING IT TO OVERTIME
Utah Valley has played six 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. UVU tied Seattle U in the championship match of the WAC Tournament before advancing to the title on penalty kicks, 3-1.
SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS
Utah Valley leads the WAC with 335 shots this season and also ranks first in the league in shots per game at 15.23 per match. The team leads the WAC and is tied for 14th nationally with 162 shots on goal and ranks 49th in the country in shots on goal per game at 7.68.
