IRVINE, Calif. – A Luis Vargas goal in the 70th minute helped Utah Valley University improve to 3-0-0 in a come-from-behind 2-1 win at UC Irvine on Friday night.
 
Goalkeeper Joseph Wheelwright made two, win-clinching saves in the 90th minute of the match to preserve the victory and end a streak of 13 straight unbeaten home openers by the Anteaters (1-1-1).
 
"To go down a goal on the road, against a very good UC Irvine side, this team showed tremendous character and the commitment to see the game out," UVU head coach Greg Maas said. "We made adjustments in the second half that changed the game, and these boys have earned the right to enjoy this win for our program before our focus moves to CSUN on Sunday."

UC Irvine took a 1-0 lead in the 29th minute on a goal by Jose Ortiz with assists from Jalani Ambrose and Daniel Crisostomo. It remained 1-0 into the second half until a ball played into the box by Zahir Vazquez resulted in an eventual own goal in the 49th minute.
 
Vargas' goal, which came on an assist from Blake Leonetti, is his second of the season and came in a one-v-one with goalkeeper Greg Patenaude. Patenaude closed the gap with the oncoming Vargas, who flicked the ball past the keeper for the decisive goal. 

UC Irvine finished 16 shots, four on goal, while the Wolverines were on goal with five of their 13 shots. 
 
Utah Valley closes out the trip to Southern California with a Sunday afternoon contest at CSUN, kicking off at 1 p.m. PT/2 p.m. MT. The Matadors defeated New Mexico, 1-0, in their home opener on Friday night and are 2-1-0 on the season.