OREM, Utah – Utah Valley University and San José State University played to a 1-1 draw in the Western Athletic Conference opener for both teams on Friday night at Clyde Field.
 
The Wolverines (3-5-1) were just seconds away from a victory, and three points out of the gate in defense of their WAC regular season title, but an 89th-minute equalizer forced extra time before the eventual draw after two overtimes. 
 
"I thought it was a very mature performance on our part aside from the last minute and a half of regulation. We've got to be able to lock down a game in those moments," said UVU head coach Greg Maas. "Overall our performance was good. There are going to be hiccups along the way in WAC play. It's a competitive conference and there's a lot of balance to it. We take our point, we move on, and we look forward to Bakersfield on Sunday.
 
Alec Felix gave the UVU a 1-0 lead in the 67th minute with his first career goal, scoring on a nifty give-and-go between he and Karson Payton, who was credited with an assist.
 
With just 87-seconds left in regulation, Joe Kay delivered a free kick from about 35 yards out into the box where Jeremy Romero got his head on it and scored the game-tying goal. It would go as the only shot on goal on the night for the Spartans (2-6-1).  
 
Utah Valley had perhaps the best chance for a golden goal less than two minutes into the first overtime on a header by Giovanny Vazquez that was saved by David Heredia. Neither team put a shot on frame the rest of the night.
 
The Wolverines finished with 14 shots, four on goal while San José State totaled nine shots overall.
 
Utah Valley now heads to CSU Bakersfield for a Sunday afternoon match that begins at 1 p.m. PT/2 p.m. MT. The Roadrunners suffered a 4-0 defeat at Seattle U in their league opener on Friday night.