OMAHA, Neb. – Utah Valley University dropped the first leg of its Midwest trip, 2-0, at Omaha on Friday night at Caniglia Field.
 
The Wolverines (3-2-0) had 14 shots in the match, seven of which came on goal, while the Mavericks (1-3-0) were on frame with five of its seven shots. Omaha scored both of its goals in the first and held on despite being out-shot 9-1 in the second half.
 
"It's fair to say we're all frustrated with the final result, as it's not indicative of the run of play," UVU head coach Greg Maas said. "That said, we must be sharper and more consistent from the onset, minimize our mistakes, and we need to be more efficient with the chances we create in the final third. Our second half performance was fantastic, and we were unfortunate to not take advantage of our possession and opportunities we created for ourselves."
 
The Mavericks scored early, just over 13 minutes in, when Seth Rinderknecht played a deep ball from the back line into the box for Diego Gutierrez, who got past the defense and scored his first goal of the season. Denzel Woods also had an assist on the play.
 
Gutierrez created Omaha's second goal as well, beating the defense and firing a shot that was saved by Joseph Wheelwright, but followed by Martin Veys, who scored into the lower left corner. The 33^rd-minute goal gave the Mavericks a 2-0 lead they carried into the break.
 
Utah Valley will conclude the current trip with a Sunday morning, 11 a.m. CT/10 a.m. MT contest against Memphis in a match that will be played at Creighton University in Omaha.