UTAH VALLEY SET TO HOST SOUTHERN UTAH, UTAH TECH WITH WAC TITLE ON THE LINE
Utah Valley wraps up its 2022 regular season slate this week at home against in-state foes Southern Utah and Utah Tech. A pair of wins would guarantee the Wolverines at least a share of the WAC regular season title. UVU will host SUU on Thursday at Clyde Field and Utah Tech on Saturday. Both matches will kick off at 6 p.m.
Fans can get into this week's matches for free if they bring slightly used sports equipment for a local youth group to donate to Togo, Africa.
The Wolverines head into this week's matches after going a perfect 2-0 on the road last week. UVU scored 10 goals over its two games last week, defeating Abilene Christian, 4-1, before downing Tarleton, 6-1. Heather Stainbrook recorded a brace in each match to finish the week with four goals, eight points, and 14 shots. Faith Webber also recorded multiple goals with a score in each match.
Utah Valley has scored 44 goals this season with Stainbrook leading the way with 10. Julianna Carter and Webber rank second with nine goals apiece, followed by Sydney Bushman with four. Hannah Lee and Nicole Ray each have three goals, while Isabella Stewart has two. Lee fronts the team in assists with nine. Stainbrook leads the team in points with 26, followed by Webber with 25 and Carter with 22. Webber fronts the team in shots (76) and shots on goal (39). The Utah Valley defense has four shutouts this season with Idalia Serrano in goal for three of them. Leah Wolf and Serrano also have a combined shutout. Serrano leads UVU with 33 saves and 978 minutes in the box.
WAC REGULAR SEASON TITLE ON THE LINE THIS WEEK
Utah Valley is currently tied with Seattle U for the top spot in the WAC standings with 22 points. A pair of wins this week would secure Utah Valley at least a share of the WAC regular season crown. It would be the second WAC regular season title in UVU history as the Wolverines also took the title in 2020.
FREE ADMISSION TO THIS WEEK'S MATCHES AVAILABLE
Fans can get a free ticket to the match if they bring slightly used sports equipment for a local youth group to donate to Togo, Africa.
BROADCAST INFO
Utah Valley's matches against Southern Utah and Utah Tech will be broadcast live on ESPN+. Brandon Crow will be on the call for both matches.
ABOUT SOUTHERN UTAH
Southern Utah enters the week with a 9-4-2 overall record and a 4-3-2 mark in WAC play. The T-Birds hold a 4-1-1 road record this season. The team went 0-1-1 last week at home with a 0-0 tie against California Baptist and a 4-0 loss to Grand Canyon. SUU currently sits just outside of the six-team WAC Tournament field with 14 points as the team is in seventh place in the WAC standings. SUU has scored 30 goals this season, averaging 2.0 a match. Sammie Sofonia leads the team in scoring with seven goals, followed by Whitney Wangsgard with six. Wangsgard also leads the team with 16 points. Megan Short leads the team in the box with a 0.84 goals against average and 81 saves.
SERIES HISTORY VS. SUU
Utah Valley and Southern Utah will meet on the pitch for the 15th time on Thursday night. Utah Valley holds an all-time 7-4-3 record against the Thunderbirds. The two teams are meeting for the first time in a WAC match as SUU is in its debut season with the league. UVU and SUU last met in 2016 with the Wolverines taking a 2-0 win in Orem. UVU holds a 4-1-2 record at home against SUU.
ABOUT UTAH TECH
Utah Tech heads into the week with a 10-4-1 overall record and a 6-2-1 WAC mark. Utah Tech holds a 3-0-1 record on the road this season. The team sat atop the WAC standings all season until last week after dropping a pair of 1-0 decisions to Grand Canyon and California Baptist at home. The team has scored 19 goals while giving up only eight this year. Karli Nyland leads the team in scoring with five goals. She also fronts the team with 11 points and 27 shots. 10 different players have scored a goal for the Trailblazers. Kayla Thompson leads the team in goal with an impressive nine shutouts. She holds a 0.53 goals against average and has recorded 66 saves.
SERIES HISTORY VS. UTAH TECH
Utah Valley and Utah Tech will meet on the pitch for the ninth time on Saturday evening. Utah Valley holds an all-time 5-2-1 advantage in the series. The Wolverines have won four straight over the Trailblazers. UVU swept the two-match series last year, taking a 3-2 win in Orem before picking up a 4-0 shutout win in St. George. UVU holds a 3-0-1 all-time record against Utah Tech at home.
UTAH VALLEY RANKS NO. 5 IN LATEST UNITED SOCCER COACHES PACIFIC REGION TOP-10 POLL
Utah Valley moved up two spots to No. 5 in the latest United Soccer Coaches Pacific Region Top-10 Poll released on Monday. The Wolverines have spent nine straight weeks in the poll.
After debuting at No. 10 in the week one poll, Utah Valley has since moved up five spots to No. 5 in the latest poll. The Wolverines are the only WAC team and the only non-Pac-12 team in the poll. The Pacific region consists of teams from the Mountain West Conference, Pac-12, and WAC.
CLYDE FIELD MAGIC
Utah Valley holds an impressive 98-41-14 (.686) all time record at Clyde Field. The team has lost just four matches over the past four seasons on the home pitch. UVU went 8-1-1 in 2021, 4-1-2 in 2020, 8-1-1 in 2019, 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. UVU ranked 10th in the nation in attendance in 2021 as the Wolverines drew an impressive 14,828 fans during the season, an average of 1,483 per game. UVU is 6-1-1 at Clyde Field this season. UVU has lost just two games at Clyde Field over the past two seasons.
