FIRST ROAD TRIP TAKES UVU TO SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
After opening the 2019 season with a win last Friday night, the Utah Valley University men's soccer team hits the road to take on a pair of unbeatens at CSUN and Cal State Fullerton. UVU will play at CSUN on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. PT/8:30 p.m. MT and at Cal State Fullerton on Sunday at 7 p.m. PT/8 p.m. MT. The trip begins a streak of three of the next four matches against Big West Conference schools. Both games this weekend can be seen on Big West TV (bigwest.org/watch).
"CSUN and Fullerton are two very talented, nationally recognized programs, that will present challenging tests in our first road matches of the year," UVU head coach Greg Maas said. "We're coming off a solid season-opening performance at home, but there's always room for improvement. The boys are looking forward to getting back on the pitch and staying on the front-foot in non-conference play."
The Wolverines (1-0-0) defeated Cal Poly on Friday night at home in front of 3,488 fans, marking the sixth straight season since the program's inception in 2014 that UVU has opened the year with a win. Utah Valley is also 6-0-0 in home openers.Â
Blake Frischknecht scored the game's only goal, on a Luis Vargas assist, and the Wolverine defense didn't allow the Mustangs a shot on goal. With the defensive effort, senior defender Aaron Caprio was named the WAC's Defensive Player of the Week while Mitch Jensen picked up the shutout.Â
ABOUT THE OPPOSITION
CSUN notched wins over Ohio State (4-3) and Dayton (3-1) to win the Bert & Iris Wolstein Classic over the weekend. Daniel Trejo was named TopDrawerSoccer.com National Player of the Week following his tournament after finishing with two goals and two assists. The Matadors sit just outside the United Soccer Coaches Top 25, behind 25th-ranked Air Force. CSUN leads the all-time series against Utah Valley, 2-1-0.
Cal State Fullerton won twice on opening weekend at home, 2-0 over Hartford and 2-1 over Bryant. The Titans host Loyola Chicago, who is ranked No. 18 by TopDrawerSoccer.com, on Friday night. UVU is 2-0-0 all-time against Cal State Fullerton, who will also host WAC foe Air Force next week.Â
UP NEXT
The Wolverines return home next week to host Canisius on Friday, Sept. 13 before a Monday contest against UC Irvine on Sept. 16. Those matches mark the last two non-conference home games of the season.
