UVU TAKES TOP SEED INTO WAC TOURNAMENT, FACES #5 NM STATE IN SEMIFINALS
Utah Valley has earned the No. 1 seed and a bye into Thursday's WAC Tournament semifinal match against fifth-seeded New Mexico State at GCU Stadium in Phoenix. The game will kickoff at 4 p.m. (MT) and will be broadcast on ESPN+.

The Wolverines wrapped up regular season play on Saturday with a 3-0 shutout win over in-state for Dixie State to claim a share of the team's first-ever WAC regular season title. Jenna Shepherd, Breanna Eves, and London Miller each scored a goal in the win, while Isabel Jones-Dawe picked up her eighth shutout of the season in the box.

Through 18 matches this season, Sadie Brockbank and Shepherd leads the Wolverines  in scoring with five goals each. Brockbank fonts the team with in shots with a WAC-best 70, including a conference-best 40 on frame. Brockbank ranks 11th nationally in shots on goal per game at 2.35. Julianna Carter, Heather Stainbrook, Anna Pickering, and London Miller each have four goals, while Amber Tripp has three. Stainbrook ranks second on the team in total shots with 44, followed by Miller with 32 and Tripp at 26. Brockbank, Stainbrook, and Tripp lead the team in assists with four each. Isabel Jones-Dawe leads the team in the box with an 9-4-3 record. She has recorded 47 saves and owns an .758 save percentage.

UTAH VALLEY WINS SHARE OF ITS FIRST-EVER WAC REGULAR SEASON TITLE
Utah Valley defeated in-state foe Dixie State in the Old Hammer Rivalry, 3-0, on Saturday night at Clyde Field to claim a share of its first-ever Western Athletic Conference regular season title.
 
With the win, Utah Valley wrapped up regular season play with an 11-4-3 overall record and a 10-2-2 mark in WAC play. The Wolverines win a share of the WAC regular season title with Seattle U, which also finished the season with a 10-2-2 record in league play. UVU picked up the win on senior night as Cassidy McCormick, Amanda Mangelson, Brenna Crow, and Siri Dahl were honored in a ceremony prior to kickoff.

"This is really special for a lot of reasons," said Utah Valley head coach Chris Lemay. "It's our first-ever WAC regular season championship. We were able to celebrate four seniors before the game that have come through this program. They have been so instrumental in building this program and helping us claim a share of the WAC title tonight."
 
The Wolverines have earned the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye at this week's WAC Tournament because of its win over Seattle U on March 27.

BROADCAST INFO FOR THURSDAY'S WAC TOURNEY SEMIFINAL MATCH
Thursday's match against New Mexico State will be broadcast live on ESPN+.  Michael Potter and Roland Vargish will be handling the play-by-play and color duties.

ABOUT NEW MEXICO STATE
New Mexico State enters Thursday match against the Wolverines with a 5-12-1 overall record. The Aggies finished sixth in the WAC this season with a 4-9-1 record (13 points). The Aggies defeated UTRGV 3-0 in the quarterfinals on Tuesday to advance to Thursday's semifinal against the Wolverines. The win over UTRGV is NM State's first win in the tournament since the 2014 season when the Aggies defeated Bakersfield 3-0 to advance to the 2014 semifinal against Seattle U, which it lost, 7-0. Sophomore midfielder Xitlaly Hernandez, who leads the Aggies with seven goals this season, scored the game winner in the 28th minute in the quarterfinal win over the Vaqueros. She also leads the team with 31 shots, including 15 on frame and fronts the team with 15 points. Sophomore forward Hannah Leitner has five goals this season and recorded a pair of assists in Tuesday's win. Prior to Tuesday's win over UTRGV, NM State had lost three straight to close out regular season play with two losses at Seattle U and a 2-0 loss to Grand Canyon at home. The Aggies have won just two of their last 10 matches. NM State has scored 25 goals this season while giving up 37.  

SERIES HISTORY VS. NM STATE
Utah Valley and New Mexico State will meet up on the pitch for the 12th time on Thursday. Utah Valley has never dropped a game to the Aggies as the team holds a 9-0-2 all-time series lead. UVU swept this season's two-match set in Orem, defeating the Aggies 2-0 and 4-0.  The two teams have met just one time at the WAC Tournament with UVU taking a 2-0 win over NM State in the tournament quarterfinals in 2016 in Kansas City.

All-Time Results vs. NM State (UVU leads series 9-0-2)
Oct. 13, 2013    Utah Valley ties New Mexico State, 2-2 (2OT)    Orem, Utah
Nov. 01, 2013    Utah Valley def. New Mexico State, 2-1 (2OT)    Las Cruces, N.M.
Oct. 19, 2014    Utah Valley def. New Mexico State, 1-0    Las Cruces, N.M.
Oct. 09, 2015    Utah Valley def. New Mexico State, 4-0    Orem, Utah
Oct. 16, 2016    Utah Valley ties New Mexico State, 2-2 (2OT)    Las Cruces, N.M.
Nov. 03, 2016    Utah Valley def. New Mexico State, 2-0    Kansas City, Mo.
Oct. 12, 2017    Utah Valley def. New Mexico State, 5-2    Orem, Utah
Sept. 28, 2018    Utah Valley def. New Mexico State, 3-0    Las Cruces, N.M.
Oct. 10, 2019    Utah Valley def. New Mexico State, 1-0    Orem, Utah
Feb. 25, 2021    Utah Valley def. New Mexico State, 2-0    Orem, Utah
Feb. 27, 2021    Utah Valley def. New Mexico State, 4-0    Orem, Utah

UVU AT THE WAC TOURNAMENT
he Wolverines hold an all-time 7-5-1 record at the WAC Tournament since joining the league in 2013. Utah Valley went 1-1 at the tournament in 2019 with a 3-1 win over Kansas City in the semifinals and a 2-1 overtime loss to Seattle U in the championship match. UVU will play a tournament semifinal match for the seventh time in team history. The Wolverines hold a 3-3 record in WAC Tournament semifinal matches. Thursday's match against NM State will mark just the second time that UVU has played the Aggies in the tournament. UVU won its lone match against NM State in a tournament game in 2016, defeating the Aggies 2-0 in the quarterfinals.

All-Time UVU WAC Tournament Results
Nov. 8, 2013    First Round    #2 Kansas City 2, #3 Utah Valley 0 (Las Cruces, N.M.)
Nov. 6, 2014    First Round    #3 Utah Valley 2, #6 UTRGV 1 - ot (Seattle, Wash.)
Nov. 7, 2014    Semifinals    #2 Kansas City 1, #3 Utah Valley 0 (Seattle, Wash.)
Nov. 6, 2015    Semifinals    #2 Utah Valley 2, #3 Kansas City 0 (Bakersfield, Calif.)
Nov. 8, 2015    Championship    #2 Utah Valley 2, #1 Seattle U 0 (Bakersfield, Calif.)
Nov. 3, 2016    First Round    #4 Utah Valley 2, #5 NM State 0 (Kansas City, Mo.)
Nov. 4, 2016    Semifinals    #1 Seattle U 2, #4 Utah Valley 1 (Kansas City, Mo.)
Nov. 3, 2017    Semifinals    #2 Utah Valley 1, #6 Grand Canyon 0 (Phoenix, Ariz.)
Nov. 5, 2017    Championship    #2 Utah Valley 1, #4 Seattle U 1 (Phoenix, Ariz.)
Oct. 31, 2018    Quarterfinals    #5 Utah Valley 2, #4 Grand Canyon 1 (Orem, Utah)
Nov. 2, 2018    Semifinals    #1 Kansas City 3, #5 Utah Valley 0 (Orem, Utah)
Nov. 8, 2019    Semifinals    #2 Utah Valley 3, #3 Kansas City 1 (Seattle, Wash.)
Nov. 10, 2019    Championship    #1 Seattle U 2, #2 Utah Valley 1 - ot  (Seattle, Wash.)

SHEPHERD NAMED WAC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Utah Valley redshirt sophomore Jenna Shepherd has been named the WAC Women's Soccer Defensive Player of the Year. Shepherd becomes the fourth player in UVU history to earn the award.
 
Shepherd also earned First Team All-WAC honors for the first time in her career. She received Second Team All-WAC honors and WAC All-Freshman team honors last season. The American Fork, Utah native anchored the Wolverine defense to nine shutouts this season. Shepherd came in on numerous set pieces to produce offensive results. She has scored five goals this year on 13 shots.
 
Shepherd joins a strong list of former UVU defensive players to earn the WAC's top defensive honor. Lauren Sack won the award in 2013, followed by Lexi Robison in 2014, and Jessica Duffin in 2015.

SCHOOL-RECORD 10 WOLVERINES EARN WAC POSTSEASON HONORS
The Western Athletic Conference announced its 2020-21 women's soccer postseason honors and Utah Valley was well represented as 10 of its players received awards, marking the most postseason honors that the team has ever earned.
 
Utah Valley redshirt sophomore Jenna Shepherd was named the WAC Defensive Player of the Year and earned First Team All-WAC honors, along with senior midfielder Amber Tripp. Senior goalkeeper Isabel Jones-Dawe, redshirt junior Sadie Brockbank, and sophomore Sydney Bushman were named second team all-WAC. Sophomore Heather Stainbrook and junior Julianna Carter received All-WAC Honorable Mention honors. UVU defender Grace Beeston, forward London Miller, and midfielder Breanna Eves were each selected to the WAC's All-Freshman team.

UVU HOLDS TOP RPI IN THE WAC
Utah Valley holds the best RPI in the WAC this season at 93. Utah Valley is one spot ahead of Pittsburgh (94) and two spots ahead of Wisconsin (95). Seattle U is second in the league at 103, followed by Grand Canyon (152), UTRGV (174), California Baptist (179), New Mexico State (271), Dixie State (278), and Chicago State (312).

UTAH VALLEY RANKS IN THE TOP-50 IN NINE STATISTICAL CATEGORIES
The Wolverines rank in the top-50 in nine team statistical categories. The team ranks tied for first in penalty kicks (1), seventh in total goals (36), ninth in total points (103), 12th in total assists (31), 13th in corner kicks per game (6.83), 16th in shots on goal per game (8.17), 34th in shots per game (15.78), 47th in scoring offense (2.00), and 50th in shutout percentage (.500).

BREANNA EVES NAMED WAC OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK  
Utah Valley's Breanna Eves has been named the TicketSmarter Western Athletic Conference Offensive Players of the Week for April 5 through April 11. Eves, a freshman midfielder from Springville, Utah, tallied the first goal of her collegiate career as she helped the Wolverines take down Dixie State and secure the No. 1 seed in the upcoming WAC Tournament. Eves also assisted on Jenna Shepherd's game-winner in the 12th minute against the Trailblazers.