UTAH VALLEY OPENS WAC PLAY AT NEW MEXICO STATE, UTRGV
The Utah Valley University women's soccer team opens Western Athletic Conference play this week as the team travels to play New Mexico State and UT Rio Grande Valley. The Wolverines will take on NM State on Friday, Sept. 28 at 4 p.m. (MT), before playing at UTRGV on Sunday, Sept. 30 at 12 p.m. (MT).

The Wolverines wrapped up non-conference play last week with a 3-1 loss at cross town rival BYU. Whitney Paskins made a little history as she scored UVU's first-ever goal against the Cougars in the setback. UVU had previously been shutout by BYU in the three games that the two teams had played. Sadie Brockbank sent a cross from the right side into the box where Paskins directed it into the net in the 83rd minute for the score against BYU.  

Sadie Brockbank leads the Wolverines with five points this season, collecting one goal and a team-high three assists this season. Brockbank and Breanna McCarter front the team with 23 shots apiece. McCarter leads the team with 10 shots on goal. Paskins leads the team with two goals, while Brockbank, McCarter, Amber Tripp, Sara Callister, and Julanna Carter each have one. Brooklyn Nielsen leads UVU in the box this season having logged 760 minutes. Nielsen ranked fourth in the WAC with 49 saves this season. She also ranks third in the conference in saves per match at 5.38 a game. She also holds a 2.01 goals against average. Sarah Davis has the lone win of the season in goal after picking up the win at Cal Poly. She has eight saves this season in 247 minutes of action.

BROADCAST INFO
Both Friday's match at New Mexico State and Sunday's game at UTRGV will be broadcast live on the WAC Digital Network at WACdigitalNetwork.com. All UVU home matches are broadcast live on the WAC Digital Network with Brandon Crow on the play-by-play and former Wolverine Melanie Ostler providing color commentator duties.

ABOUT NEW MEXICO STATE
New Mexico State enters Friday's match against the Wolverines with a 1-9-0 overall record this season. The team's lone victory was a 3-0 win over Northern Illinois on Aug. 31. NMSU has dropped five straight, including a pair of games last week to South Dakota and UTEP. The Aggies conceded an own goal early in the match and then lost a 3-0 home match to South Dakota last Thursday. The Aggies then traveled to El Paso where the team dropped a 4-1 decision at UTEP in the team's final non-conference match. Sophomore defender Katie Martinez scored the goal for the Aggies against the Miners on a penalty kick. Senior forward Aileen Galicia leads the team with four goals this year, followed by Martinez with three. Five other Aggies have put a ball in the back of the net. NM State has utilized the help of three goalkeepers this season. Senior keeper Ashley Martin leads the team with 21 saves, while freshman goalie Mia Montano has 19 saves with one shutout.

SERIES HISTORY VS. NEW MEXICO STATE
Utah Valley and New Mexico State will meet on the pitch for the eighth time on Friday night. The Wolverines have never lost to the Aggies as the team owns a 5-0-2 all-time series lead. Friday night will mark the fourth time that UVU has played NMSU in Las Cruces where the Wolverines own a 1-0-2 advantage.  

All-Time Results vs. NM State (UVU leads series 5-0-2)
Oct. 13, 2013    Utah Valley ties NM State, 2-2 (2OT)    Orem, Utah
Nov. 1, 2013    Utah Valley def. NM State, 2-1 (2OT)    Las Cruces, N.M.
Oct. 19, 2014    Utah Valley def. NM State, 1-0        Las Cruces, N.M
Oct. 9, 2015    Utah Valley def. NM State, 4-0        Orem, Utah
Oct. 16, 2016    Utah Valley ties NM State, 2-2 (2OT)    Las Cruces, N.M.
Nov. 3, 2016    Utah Valley def. NM State, 2-0        Kansas City, Mo.
Oct. 12, 2017    Utah Valley def. NM State, 5-2        Orem, Utah

ABOUT UT RIO GRANDE VALLEY
UTRGV enters the week with a 6-4-1 overall record. The team has won two straight matches after wins over Texas Lutheran and Omaha last week at home. The Vaqueros scored twice in the final eight minutes to defeat Texas Lutheran, 3-1, on Sept. 20 at home. Junior forward Sarah Bonney, senior forward Daniela Cantu, and sophomore midfielder Gina Steiner each scored goals in the win. Freshman forward Emily Zapata scored her third game-winning goal of the season to lead the Vaqueros to a 1-0 overtime win over Omaha on Sept. 23 in Edinburg. Zapata leads UTRGV with six goals this season, followed by Bonney with five. Junior goalkeeper Kinga Szemik leads UTRGV in the box as she has 43 saves this season with a .782 save percentage. Szemik has earned WAC Defensive Player of the Week honors three times this season.

SERIES HISTORY VS. UT RIO GRANDE VALLEY
Utah Valley and UTRGV go head-to-head for the fourth time on Sunday. The Wolverines have never lost to the Vaqueros as the team holds a 3-0-0 series lead. Sunday's match marks just the second time that the Wolverines have played in Edinburg. UVU defeated UTRGV 5-0 the last time the two teams met in Edinburg on Oct. 17, 2014.

All-Time Results vs. UTRGV (UVU leads series 3-0-0)
Oct. 17, 2014    Utah Valley def. UTRGV, 5-0        Edinburg, Texas
Nov. 6, 2014    Utah Valley def. UTRGV, 2-1 (OT) Seattle, Washington
Oct. 11, 2015    Utah Valley def. UTRGV, 2-0         Orem, Utah

SAVE IT
Utah Valley ranks third in the WAC this season in saves as the team has 58 saves--an average 5.27 saves per match. UVU keeper Brooklyn Nielsen ranks fourth in the WAC in saves with 49. She also ranks fourth in saves per game (5.44) and fifth in save percentage at .742.
 
UP NEXT
Utah Valley returns to Clyde Field on Oct. 5 to host Chicago State. Kickoff will be at 11 a.m. (MT)