Utah Valley vs. Weber State
Tuesday, Sept. 4 | 7:30 p.m. MT
Clyde Field | Orem, Utah
Live Video (WAC Digital Network) | UVU StatBroadcast | UVU Match Notes
UTAH VALLEY HOSTS WEBER STATE ON TUESDAY NIGHT
Utah Valley returns home from its trip in California this past week to host in-state rival Weber State on Tuesday at Clyde Field. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. (MT). The game against the Wildcats was originally scheduled for Aug. 23, but was rescheduled for Sept. 4 due to inclement weather.
The Wolverines return to Clyde Field this week for just their second home match of the season. UVU holds an all-time 71-34-11 record on the manicured grass at Clyde Field. UVU went 5-1-0 at home last season, including wins over Wyoming, Seattle U, New Mexico State, UT Rio Grande Valley, and Grand Canyon. The Wolverines went 5-2-1 during the 2016 season and were unbeaten at home during the 2015 season with a 9-0-1 mark. UVU has consistently ranked in the top-40 nationally in home attendance.
UVU returns home after splitting a pair of matches in the Golden State. The Wolverines dropped a 4-1 decision at San Diego before defeating Cal Poly, 3-2. Sara Callister scored the lone goal of the match at San Diego, while Amber Tripp, Breanna McCarter, and Whitney Paskins each found the back of the net in the win at Cal Poly on Sunday night.
McCarter leads the Wolverines with three points this season, collecting one goal and one assist on the season. She also fronts the team with 14 shots, including six on goal. Paskins, Tripp, and Callister each have one goal on the year. Sadie Brockbank and Megan Sullivan each have one assist this season. Brooklyn Nielsen leads UVU in the box this season having logged 336 minutes. Nielsen has recorded 21 saves with a .778 save percentage. She also holds a 1.60 goals against average. Sarah Davis has the lone win of the season in goal after picking up the win at Cal Poly. Davis has seven saves this season.
BROADCAST INFO
Tuesday's match against Weber State will be streamed live on the WAC Digital Network at WACDigitalNetwork.com. Brandon Crowe will be on the call along with former Wolverine Melanie Ostler.
PASKINS SCORES GAME WINNER IN BREAKOUT WIN AT CAL POLY
Whitney Paskins scored the game winner in the 85th minute to lift Utah Valley to its first win of the season in a 3-2 road victory over Cal Poly on Sunday night at Alex G. Spanos Stadium in San Luis Obispo, California.
The win pushes Utah Valley to 1-3-1 overall on the season, while Cal Poly falls to 0-3-2. Utah Valley now returns home to welcome in-state rival Weber State to Clyde Field on Tuesday night.
"I think the team showed a lot of character tonight," said Utah Valley head coach Chris Lemay. "When you are 0-3-1 on the season and you go down a goal two times in the match, it would have been easy for us to put our heads down. We battled the entire 90 and that is something that we failed to do so far this season is give a consistent effort through the entire match. We're very excited and I'm proud of our team."
Cal Poly took a 1-0 lead in the 15th minute after Georgina Stiegeler got down the left side and made her way past a UVU defender and scored to give the Mustangs the early lead.
The Wolverines got on the scoreboard in the 33rd minute after Megan Sullivan sent a ball into the box from the left side that found the head of Breanna McCarter. McCarter headed ball over to Amber Tripp who then fired a shot past the Cal Poly keeper to tie the score, 1-1.
The Mustangs took back the lead in the 52nd minute as Clare Murphy passed a ball down the right side to Brooke Rubinstein who then found the back of the net to put Cal Poly back on top, 2-1.
Utah Valley's McCarter received a pass from Sadie Brockbank on the right side and fired a shot into the back of the net in the 82nd minute to tie the match, 2-2. Just three minutes later, Whitney Paskins gave UVU the lead after she rebounded a ball in front of the net and fired in a shot in the 85th minute to put the Wolverines on top, 3-2.
"We were breaking their pressure and I thought you could feel something was coming," said Lemay. "The two goals came because we were persistent and continued to apply pressure and stick to what we wanted to do."
Utah Valley outshot Cal Poly 16-12 on the night, including a 9-6 advantage on goal. McCarter led the Wolverines with six shots, including a team-best four shots on goal. The senior forward finished the night with one goal and one assist. Tripp and Paskins each had a pair of shots, while six other Wolverines tallied one shot.
Sarah Davis picked up the win in the box for UVU. The senior keeper tallied four saves on the night.
ABOUT WEBER STATE
Weber State enters Wednesday night's matchup at Utah Valley with a 0-2-1 record. The Wildcats dropped a 1-0 decision to North Texas on Aug. 30. Tuesday night's match at UVU marks the Wildcats first road match of the season. Weber State dropped a 2-0 decision to Utah in its opener. The Wildcats rebounded with a 0-0 double overtime tie to Nevada before falling 1-0 to North Texas. Weber State is still searching for its first goal of the season. Sadie Newsom and Madison Garlock lead the team with five shots apiece. Newsom leads the Wildcats with three shots on goal this season. WSU has allowed three goals this year through its three matches. Nikki Pittman leads the team in goal having played all three matches with 10 saves and one shutout. The Wildcats finished 10th in the Big Sky Conference last season with 3-12-3 overall record and a 2-5-3 mark in league play. WSU was selected to finish eighth in the Big Sky preseason coaches poll. Forward Morgan Quarnberg returns for her senior season after leading the team in shots on goal (24), goals (9), and points (18) last season.
ALL-TIME SERIES HISTORY VS. WEBER STATE
Utah Valley and Weber State will meet on the pitch for the seventh time on Tuesday night with the Wildcats holding an all-time 5-1 lead in the series. UVU's lone win in the series dates back to the 2003 season as the Wolverines took a 1-0 victory in Ogden. UVU is 0-3 all-time against the Wildcats at home. Weber State took a 2-1 double overtime win the last time the two teams met on Aug. 29, 2013.
All-Time Series History vs. Weber State (WSU leads 5-1)
Aug. 29, 2013 Weber State def. Utah Valley, 2-1 (2OT) Orem, Utah
Sept. 5, 2012 Weber State def. Utah Valley, 1-0 Ogden, Utah
Aug. 23, 2011 Weber State def. Utah Valley, 1-0 Orem, Utah
Aug. 26, 2005 Weber State def. Utah Valley, 1-0 Orem, Utah
Oct. 9, 2004 Weber State def. Utah Valley, 5-2 Ogden, Utah
Aug. 23, 2003 Utah Valley def. Weber State, 1-0 Ogden, Utah
UVU PUSHES HOME UNBEATEN STREAK TO FIVE MATCHES
With its tie against UNLV on Aug. 25, Utah Valley extended its home unbeaten streak to five games dating back to a 3-0 win over Seattle U on Sept. 30, 2017. The last time UVU lost a match at Clyde Field was on Sept. 14, 2017 when the Wolverines dropped a 3-2 double overtime decision to Washington State. The loss to WSU was UVU's only home loss of the year in 2017.
THREE WOLVERINES NAMED TO PRESEASON ALL-WAC TEAM, WOLVERINES PICKED SECOND IN WAC PRESEASON COACHES POLL
The Utah Valley University women's soccer team was selected to finish second in the 2018 Western Athletic Conference Preseason Poll and UVU players Hannah Bruce, Amber Tripp, and Brooklyn Nielsen were each named to the Preseason All-WAC team.
The Wolverines went 5-2 in WAC play last season and finished second in the regular season standings. The team went on to claim the 2017 WAC Tournament championship and earn the WAC's bid to the NCAA Tournament where it took on eventual national champion Stanford. The Wolverines have won the WAC Tournament title two times over the past three years.
UVU was projected to finish second after receiving four of the nine first place votes for a total of 57 points. The Wolverines finished just three points behind Kansas City, which received five first place votes for a total of 60 points. Seattle U was selected third (50), followed by Grand Canyon (38) in fourth, UT Rio Grande Valley (37) fifth, and New Mexico State (30) in sixth. CSU Bakersfield was picked seventh with 26 points with WAC newcomer California Baptist being selected eighth with 16 points. Chicago State rounded out he poll in ninth place with 10 points.
Bruce anchored the UVU defense to five shutouts last season, including a pair of clean sheets during WAC play and another in the semifinals of the WAC Tournament. The junior defender helped the squad hold its opponents to just 11.7 shots per match. Bruce also helped the offense with five assists last year. Bruce earned first team All-WAC honors for her play in 2017. Tripp earns a preseason all-WAC selection after ranking third on the team last season with five goals, including four during WAC play. The sophomore forward also tallied three assists for 13 points in 2017. She fired 27 shots, including 15 on goal. Tripp earned WAC Freshman of the Year honors for her play last year.
Nielsen led Utah Valley with three shutouts in goal last season for the Wolverines. The junior keeper logged 1,612 minutes in the box last year and recorded a .635 save percentage. She picked up nine wins and allowed 31 goals on the 206 shots she faced.
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 last season. The tournament title earned the Wolverines the WAC's auto bid to the NCAA Tournament where it dropped a 9-1 decision at eventual national champion Stanford. UVU's lone goal at Stanford was the only goal of the season that Stanford allowed on its home pitch during the 2017 season.
CLYDE FIELD MAGIC
Utah Valley holds an impressive 71-34-11 all time record at Clyde Field. The team has lost just five matches over the past four seasons on the home pitch. UVU went 5-1-0 at home last season, including wins over Wyoming, Seattle U, New Mexico State, UT Rio Grande Valley, and Grand Canyon. The Wolverines went 5-2-1 during the 2016 season and were unbeaten at home during the 2015 season with a 9-0-1 mark. UVU has consistently ranked in the top-40 nationally in attendance.
