Orem, UTAH — Abel Mendoza and Diego Castillo each scored their first goals of the season to lead the Utah Valley men's soccer team to a 2-0 victory over the UT Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros Saturday afternoon at Clyde Field. After an offensive stalemate in the first half, the Wolverines broke through with two second-half goals to improve to 4-5-1 and 2-2 in WAC play.

"We're just trying to build off each performance," said head coach Kyle Beckerman. "We feel like we've had some good performances when the results don't go our way. It's just a matter of shoring up our mistakes, and the last two games we did that."

The Wolverines broke through less than 90 seconds into the second half off the foot of Mendoza. Ura Miura cut in from the left flank and laid off a pass for Loed Klaasen in the penalty area. Klaasen dumped it off to Mendoza, who cut back and fired a left-footed shot past the sliding keeper. 

A flurry in front of the UTRGV goal in the 81st minute led to Utah Valley's second goal of the afternoon. Mark Andros' initial shot was saved by Madsen, but the rebound fell to Castillo's feet. Castillo's first shot was cleared off the line by the Vaqueros, but Castillo vollied the rebound into the back of the net.

Key contributions off the bench were the story of both wins on the weekend for Utah Valley. Substitutes accounted for six points across the two games. 

"It's a message we tell all our guys, that you've gotta stay ready," said Beckerman. "It's about controlling what you can control and being ready when you get the opportunity, and they've really taken that to heart."

Up next for the Wolverines is a road trip to the Emerald City to take on the Seattle U Redhawks on Friday. Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. MDT and the match will be streamed on ESPN+.