UTAH VALLEY OPENS 2021 SEASON AT HOME AGAINST ARIZONA, NORTHERN ARIZONA
Utah Valley opens its 2021 season at home against Arizona and Northern Arizona on Friday and Monday, respectively at Clyde Field. Friday's match against Pac-12 foe Arizona will kickoff at 7 p.m., while Monday's game against NAU will begin at 7:30 p.m.

The Wolverines head into the new season fresh off their first-ever NCAA Tournament win, a first-ever WAC regular season championship, and a WAC Tournament title this past spring. UVU welcomes back most of its squad from the spring, including 12 players who started nine or more games last season.

UVU was picked to win the WAC's west division in the league's preseason coaches' poll. Nine of the 10 players that received All-WAC honors last season return in 2021, including First Team All-WAC honoree and WAC Defensive Player of the Year Jenna Shepherd. Shepherd was also the WAC's pick for preseason Defensive Player of the Year after anchoring the UVU defense to an impressive 11 shutouts last season, including the shutout win over Memphis in the NCAA Tournament. She also helped out on set pieces, scoring five goals on 13 shots. Shepherd has been named one of TopDrawerSoccer.com's Top-100 players in the nation.

BROADCAST INFO
Both Friday's match against Arizona and Monday's game against Northern Arizona will be broadcast live on ESPN+. Brandon Crow will be back on the call for all 10 of UVU's home matches at Clyde Field.

ABOUT ARIZONA
Arizona finished the 2020-21 season with a 9-5-1 overall record and a 4-5-1 mark in Pac-12 play. The team returns 70 percent of its players from last season, including eight starters. The Wildcats were picked to finish 10th in the Pac-12 preseason coaches' poll. 2020-21 leading scorer Jill Aguilera returns for her redshirt senior season. The forward from Redwood City, Calif., led Arizona with nine goals to go along with five assists and a team-best 23 points. Keeper Hope Hisey also returns to the team after logging 1353 minutes in the box last season with 62 saves and seven shutouts. Arizona did play a pair of exhibition matches this season, defeating San Diego State, 2-0, before playing to a 0-0 draw at Grand Canyon. Arizona is led by new head coach Becca Moros who will be making her official coaching debut against the Wolverines.

SERIES HISTORY VS. ARIZONA
Utah Valley and Arizona will meet on the pitch for just the second time on Friday. The Wolverines dropped a 5-1 decision at Arizona in the only meeting between the two teams on Aug. 21, 2016.

All-Time Results vs. Arizona
Oct. 21, 2016    Arizona def. Utah Valley, 5-1    Tucson, Arizona

ABOUT NORTHERN ARIZONA
Northern Arizona opens its season at Utah State on Friday night before heading to Orem to take on the Wolverines on Monday. NAU was picked to win the Big Sky Conference in the league's preseason coaches' poll. The team heads into 2021 after finishing the 2020-21 season with an impressive 7-2-1 record. The team won its Big Sky Tournament semifinal game over Idaho, 1-0, to advance to the tournament's championship match. However, the championship game against Montana was canceled due to COVID. Montana was awarded the Big Sky's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. NAU welcomes back 13 letterwinners, including Madison Montgomery who led the team in scoring last season with nine goals in nine games.

SERIES HISTORY VS. NORTHERN ARIZONA
Utah Valley and Northern Arizona will meet for the sixth time on Monday night. NAU holds an all-time 3-1-1 advantage in the series. UVU won the last meeting between the two teams, taking a 4-1 win in Flagstaff on Aug. 19, 2016. NAU took a 2-0 win over UVU in the last meeting in Orem on Sept. 21, 2007.

All-Time Results vs. Arizona
Aug. 19, 2016    Utah Valley def. Northern Arizona, 4-1    Flagstaff, Arizona
Sept. 28, 2008    Northern Arizona def. Utah Valley, 3-1    Flagstaff, Arizona
Sept. 21, 2007    Northern Arizona def. Utah Valley, 2-0    Orem, Utah
Oct. 2, 2005    Northern Arizona def. Utah Valley, 4-0    Las Vegas, Nevada (UNLV Rebel Classic)
Aug. 27, 2004    Utah Valley ties Northern Arizona, 0-0 (2OT)    Flagstaff, Arizona

UVU IN SEASON OPENERS
The Wolverines hold an all-time 7-9-2 record in season-opening matches. The Wolverines hold a 3-2-2 record when opening the season at home and a 2-7-0 when opening the season on the road.  Friday night's home opener against Arizona will mark the first time UVU has opened the season at home since 2012.

CLYDE FIELD MAGIC
Utah Valley holds an impressive 84-39-12 all time record at Clyde Field. The team has lost just eight matches over the past five seasons on the home pitch. UVU went 3-4-1 at home in 2018, 5-1-0 in 2017,  5-2-1 during the 2016 season and were unbeaten at home during the 2015 season with a 9-0-1 mark. The Wolverines went an impressive 8-1-1 at home in 2019 and finished the 2020-21 campaign with a 4-1-2 mark. UVU ranked ninth in the nation in attendance in 2019 as the Wolverines average 1,319 fans per game at Clyde Field. UVU currently holds a four-match unbeaten streak at Clyde Field.

UVU PICKED TO WIN THE WEST, FOUR PLAYERS SELECTED TO PRESEASON ALL-WAC TEAM
Utah Valley was selected as the favorite to win the WAC West Division in the league's preseason coaches' poll. UVU's Jenna Shepherd was named the WAC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, while being joined by teammates Sadie Brockbank, Heather Stainbrook, and Amber Tripp on the Preseason All-WAC team.