WOLVERINES DRAW ROOS IN WAC QUARTERFINAL
Utah Valley University, the No. 2 seed at this week's WAC Tournament, will face No. 7-seed Kansas City on Wednesday in one of three quarterfinal matches at the U.S. Air Force Academy. Kick is slated for 6 p.m. MT with all WAC Tournament games airing live on ESPN+.
"This team is ready for the WAC tournament. We've earned the No. 2 seed, we're playing great soccer, and we have momentum on our side at the right time," UVU head coach Greg Maas said. "Like any tournament, it's up for grabs, but our team's experience, maturity, and comfort with the environment in Colorado Springs should provide a welcomed edge."
A win would put UVU in Friday's 6 p.m. semifinal match, against the winner of the Air Force/Houston Baptist match. Those two will play the 3 p.m. match on Wednesday. CSU Bakersfield and San José State will open the tournament at noon with the winner of that contest moving on to play top seed Seattle U on Friday afternoon.
The Wolverines (11-6-1) enter the tournament as winners of three straight. UVU scored four times in the second half to defeat Air Force, 4-1, last Saturday afternoon on Senior Day at Clyde Field. Zach Maas scored for the fourth straight game and Blake Frischknecht had a brace and in the process earned his sixth game-winner, which is tied for the national lead. His performance also earned him the WAC Offensive Player of the Week for the second time. Aaron Caprio also scored on a PK late in the contest, the center back's first home goal in his final home game.Â
ABOUT THE ROOS
Kansas City (6-10-0) earned the No. 7 seed despite falling 2-0 at Houston Baptist in Saturday's regular season finale. UT Rio Grande Valley's loss at Incarnate Word allowed KC to pick up the final spot.Â
UVU leads the all-time series against Kansas City, 4-2-0 but dropped a 2-1 decision earlier this season on the road. The Wolverines trailed 1-0 after 42nd-minute goal from Aiden Cavanaugh and the 2-0 when Ryan Khedoo scored in the 68th minute. Frischknecht got UVU on the board in the 75th minute but the Wolverines could not find the equalizer despite out-shooting KC 18-5 overall in the match.