FORT MYERS, Florida—Utah Valley gave Florida Gulf Coast all it could handle on Sunday afternoon, playing the Eagles to a 0-0 tie in regulation before falling 1-0 in overtime at the FGCU Soccer Complex.
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Despite the loss, Utah Valley heads back home with a 1-1-0 road split after picking up the 5-1 win at Florida Atlantic on Thursday night and the overtime loss at FGCU on Sunday.
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"It was a good overall match in a lot of ways," said Utah Valley head coach
Chris Lemay. "I'm proud of our team. They had to overcome a lot of tricky circumstances by traveling across the country in a pandemic and I thought we handled it well. We could have been a little better in the most crucial moments but credit FGCU. They had a game plan and executed it well. They are a quality team. It just wasn't our day. We had a couple of really good opportunities that we just couldn't convert. We played a team that was fresh and we played a hard-fought match on Thursday night. We're not getting on a plane with our heads down. This is a special group and we have a lot to look forward to this season."
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FGCU stole the ball at midfield and made a pass downfield to Louise Lillback who the found the back of the net before the Wolverines could get back defensively for the game winner in the 94th minute.
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Utah Valley outshot FGCU 13-10 on the day, including a 9-5 advantage on goal. The Wolverines had eight of their 13 shots in the first half. UVU had four corner kicks to FGCU's two.
Heather Stainbrook and
Sadie Brockbank led the Wolverines with three shots apiece. All three of Brockbank's shots were on frame.
Nicole Ray,
Amber Tripp, and Miller each had two shots.
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London Miller gave the Wolverines one of their closest opportunities as she fired a shot from the middle of the box that deflected off the FGCU keeper and then bounced off the left post and slowly inching toward the goaline before being picked up and secured.
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Isabel Jones-Dawe played the entire match in the box for Utah Valley. She picked up three saves on the day. The Wolverines forced FGCU's keeper into eight saves on the day.
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Utah Valley will continue road play at UTEP on Saturday, Feb. 13. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. (MT) in El Paso. The Wolverines will open their home slate on Feb. 25 against New Mexico State at the Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman, Utah.
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