OREM, Utah — Alejandro Silva, Aaron Nixon, and Carter Johnson each scored second half goals to lead the Utah Valley University men's soccer team to a 3-0 shutout win over Air Force on Thursday afternoon at Clyde Field. The win moves the Wolverines to 8-4-2 overall and 5-3-0 in the WAC as they inch closer to earning a spot in the conference tournament in two weeks. The Falcons — who entered the day tied atop the WAC table — drop to 8-6-1 overall and 7-2-0 in league play. 
 
"The biggest thing for us it to just keep at it. We played really well in the first half, just didn't get a goal. But keeping possession like that puts body blows on the other team and if you keep at it and keep at it, eventually they'll start to break and that's what we saw today," said head coach Kyle Beckerman. "It was a really good response from last weekend. I was proud of everyone to really come out and get back in the win column."
 
The Wolverines got on the scoreboard in the 65th minute as Min Kang took a shot near the top of the box that deflected back to Silva. Silva then fired a shot to toward the far post that found the back of the net to give the Wolverines a 1-0 lead. A foul in the box led to a UVU penalty kick in the 68th minute and the Wolverines took advantage. Nixon rebounded his own shot on the PK and poked it in with his left foot to extend Utah Valley's lead to a 2-0.
 
Utah Valley put it away in the 77th minute on Johnson's goal. Jojea Kwizera dribbled the ball down the field in the 77th minute and sent a lead pass to Evans Armah inside the right side of the box. Armah then sent the ball back toward the middle where Johnson scored with his left foot for the 3-nil advantage. 

Nixon added to his team-high in goals scored and now has seven on the season while Kwizera, who entered the week tied for the WAC lead in assists, notched No. 8 on the season on Johnson's goal. 

Utah Valley outshot Air Force 21-5 on the day and had a 7-1 advantage on shots on frame. Jason Smith picked up his second clean sheet in as many games after recording one save. 
 
The Wolverines continue WAC play at home on Saturday against No. 25 Grand Canyon in the final home game of the 2021 season. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. Prior to the match, the team's 11 graduating seniors will be honored.