UTAH VALLEY OPENS WAC PLAY AT HOME AGAINST GRAND CANYON, NEW MEXICO STATE
Utah Valley opens Western Athletic Conference play this week as the Wolverines host Grand Canyon in the team's WAC opener on Thursday, Sept. 23 at Clyde Field. UVU will also take on New Mexico State on Saturday in Orem. Thursday's match against GCU will kickoff at 11 a.m., while Saturday's game against NM State will begin at 7 p.m.
Utah Valley enters Thursday's match against Grand Canyon with a 5-4-0 overall record. The team wrapped up non-conference play last week on the road, falling 4-2 at Big 12 foe Oklahoma before taking a 3-0 loss at Alabama.
Heather Stainbrook and
Nicole Ray scored UVU's goals in the loss at Oklahoma last week.
Stainbrook leads the Wolverines in scoring with five goals. She also has two assists and leads the team with 12 points.
Sadie Brockbank leads UVU with 26 shots, including a team-best 14 on frame. Brockbank is second on the team with four goals, followed by Ray with three.
Amber Tripp,
Breanna Eves,
Jenna Shepherd,
Grace Beeston, and
London Miller each have one goal. In all, eight Wolverines have scored a goal this season. Brockbank and Tripp are tied for the team lead in assists with three apiece.
The UVU defense has recorded four shutout wins. The defense has allowed 14 goals through its nine games.
Brooklyn Nielsen has led the Wolverines in the box with 19 saves and holds a .576 save percentage. She has a 1.54 goals allowed average in 815 minutes in goal.
BROADCAST INFO
Thursday's match against Grand Canyon and Saturday night's match versus New Mexico State will both be streamed live on ESPN+.
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ABOUT GRAND CANYON
Grand Canyon enters Thursday's match against Utah Valley with a 7-2 overall record. The Antelopes concluded non-league play last week with a 4-1 road win over UC San Diego. GCU's only losses this season came in a 2-1 setback at UTSA and a 2-0 loss at home to New Mexico. The Lopes hold a 3-1 record on the road this year. GCU has a balanced scoring attack with 10 different players finding the back of the net. Of those 10 players, nine of them have scored multiple goals. Lindsey Prokop leads the team in scoring with four goals, followed by Marleen Schimmer and Jaycee Iranshad with three apiece. Jordan Ferguson leads the Lopes in the box with 23 saves and four shutouts. She owns a 0.82 goals allowed per game average. As a team, GCU has only allowed eight goals through its nine matches. The team has four shutout victories.
SERIES HISTORY VS. GCU
Utah Valley and Grand Canyon will meet on the pitch for the 16th time on Thursday with the Wolverines holding an all-time 10-4-1 advantage in the series. UVU holds a 6-1-0 record against GCU in games played at Clyde Field. GCU's lone win in Orem was a 2-0 win over UVU on Oct. 12, 2014. The two teams split a pair of matches in Phoenix last season with each team taking a 1-0 win. The Wolverines have won five straight matches over the Lopes in games played in Orem. The last time the two teams met at Clyde Field, UVU took a 1-0 win on Oct. 26, 2019.
All-Time Results vs. GCU
Feb. 20, 2021Â Â Â Grand Canyon def. Utah Valley, 1-0Â Â Â Phoenix, Arizona
Feb. 18, 2021Â Â Â Utah Valley def. Grand Canyon, 1-0Â Â Â Phoenix, Arizona
Oct. 26, 2019Â Â Â Utah Valley def. Grand Canyon, 1-0Â Â Â Orem, Utah
Oct. 31, 2018Â Â Â Utah Valley def. Grand Canyon, 2-1Â Â Â Orem, Utah
Oct. 21, 2018Â Â Â Utah Valley ties Grand Canyon, 0-0Â Â Â Phoenix, Arizona
Nov. 3, 2017Â Â Â Utah Valley def. Grand Canyon, 1-0Â Â Â Phoenix, Arizona
Oct. 20, 2017Â Â Â Utah Valley def. Grand Canyon, 1-0Â Â Â Orem, Utah
Oct. 9, 2016Â Â Â Grand Canyon def. Utah Valley, 2-1 (2OT)Â Â Â Phoenix, Arizona
Sept. 26, 2016Â Â Â Utah Valley def. Grand Canyon, 2-1Â Â Â Orem, Utah
Oct. 23, 2015Â Â Â Grand Canyon def. Utah Valley, 1-0Â Â Â Phoenix, Arizona
Oct. 16, 2015Â Â Â Utah Valley def. Grand Canyon, 3-1Â Â Â Orem, Utah
Oct. 12, 2014Â Â Â Grand Canyon def. Utah Valley, 2-0Â Â Â Orem, Utah
Oct. 5, 2014Â Â Â Utah Valley def. Grand Canyon, 2-0Â Â Â Phoenix, Arizona
Oct. 25, 2013Â Â Â Utah Valley def. Grand Canyon, 3-0Â Â Â Orem, Utah
Sept. 29, 2013Â Â Â Utah Valley def. Grand Canyon, 5-3Â Â Â Phoenix, Arizona
ABOUT NEW MEXICO STATE
New Mexico State heads into the week with a 4-5-0 record. The team is on a four game losing stream with setbacks to UTEP, UNLV, New Mexico, and Gonzaga. NM State's last win was a 2-0 victory at UIW on Sept. 5. The Aggies opened the season with three straight wins before dropping five of its next six matches. Seven different players have scored a goal for NMSU this season, led by Hannah Leitner, Shea O'Connor, Corey Kizer, and Megan Ormson with two apiece. Leitner leads the team with eight points on four assists and two goals. O'Connor leads the team in shots with 12, including a team-best nine on frame. Makenna Gottschalk leads the team in goal, registering 27 saves with 16 goals allowed. She has two shutouts. As a team, NMSU has scored 11 goals while giving up 17.
SERIES HISTORY VS. NM STATE
Utah Valley and New Mexico State will meet up on the pitch for the 13th time on Saturday night. Utah Valley has never dropped a game to the Aggies as the team holds a 9-0-2 all-time series lead. UVU is 4-0-1 against NM State all-time at home. The two teams last met in the semifinals of the WAC Tournament last season with the two teams tying 1-1 in double overtime. UVU then advanced to the WAC Tournament final on penalty kicks, 4-3.
All-Time Results vs. NMSU
Oct. 13, 2013Â Â Â Utah Valley ties New Mexico State, 2-2 (2OT)Â Â Â Â Â Â Orem, Utah
Nov. 01, 2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Utah Valley def. New Mexico State, 2-1 (2OT)Â Â Â Â Â Â Las Cruces, N.M.
Oct. 19, 2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Utah Valley def. New Mexico State, 1-0Â Â Â Â Â Â Las Cruces, N.M.
Oct. 09, 2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Utah Valley def. New Mexico State, 4-0Â Â Â Â Â Â Orem, Utah
Oct. 16, 2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Utah Valley ties New Mexico State, 2-2 (2OT)Â Â Â Â Â Â Las Cruces, N.M.
Nov. 03, 2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Utah Valley def. New Mexico State, 2-0Â Â Â Â Â Kansas City, Mo.
Oct. 12, 2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Utah Valley def. New Mexico State, 5-2Â Â Â Â Â Â Orem, Utah
Sept. 28, 2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Utah Valley def. New Mexico State, 3-0Â Â Â Â Â Â Las Cruces, N.M.
Oct. 10, 2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Utah Valley def. New Mexico State, 1-0Â Â Â Â Â Â Orem, Utah
Feb. 25, 2021Â Â Â Utah Valley def. New Mexico State, 4-0Â Â Â Herriman, Utah
Feb. 27, 2021   Utah Valley def. New Mexico State, 3-1   Herriman, Utah
April 15, 2021Â Â Â Utah Valley ties New Mexico State, 1-1 (2OT)Â Â Â Phoenix, Arizona
