With just three games remaining in the regular season, Utah Valley men's soccer returns home for an Old Hammer Rivalry matchup with the Utah Tech Trailblazers on Friday before heading to Sin City to take on the UNLV Rebels on Sunday. Kickoff from Clyde Field on Friday is scheduled for 6 p.m. MDT, while Sunday's matchup with the Rebels is scheduled for 8 p.m. MDT.
Coming into the penultimate matchweek, the Wolverines (4-7-1, 2-4 WAC) find themselves on the outside looking in at the top six spots that would qualify for the WAC Tournament, set to be held on the campus of California Baptist from Nov. 9-13. Utah Valley controls its own destiny, with two games in hand on fifth-place UTRGV, who are four points ahead of the Wolverines.
At Friday's match, UVU Athletics will be partnering with the Togo Project to collect donations of new or used sporting equipment to be sent to Africa. Fans who bring donations to any of the remaining volleyball, men's soccer, and women's soccer home matches will receive free admission.
BROADCAST INFO
Friday's match against the Trailblazers will be broadcast on ESPN+. Sunday's matchup with the Rebels will be broadcast on WAC International.
ABOUT THE TRAILBLAZERS
Utah Tech (3-10-2, 1-3-2 WAC) comes into Friday on a six-match winless streak. The Trailblazers' last win was a 2-1 upset victory over defending WAC champions Grand Canyon on the first matchday of the conference slate. Utah Tech was idle last week in the WAC, but faced off with former WAC foe Incarnate Word, falling 2-0 on the road.
HISTORY VS UTAH TECH
The Wolverines and Trailblazers, who are in their third season as a Division I program, have met just once on the pitch, a 2-1 victory for Utah Valley last season in St. George. Evans Armah recorded a brace to help the Wolverines in a second-half comeback.
ABOUT THE REBELS
The Rebels (1-7-6, 0-4-2 WAC) come into the week on an eight-match winless streak, but have shown flashes of potential over the course of the season. UNLV opened the season with a pair of road draws with top 25 opponents in Santa Clara and Loyola Marymount, but have since won just one (Pacific) and drawn four (Sacramento State, San Diego, GCU, and HCU).
HISTORY VS UNLV
The all-times series between the Wolverines and Rebels is tied at 5-5. In the last seven meetings, the teams have traded wins, with Utah Valley earning a 4-1 home victory last fall. The last time a team won two straight games in the series was 2015-16 when the Wolverines picked up a 1-0 victory over the Rebels at the WAC Tournament, then followed it up with a 2-1 win at Clyde Field the following season.
WHO TO WATCH FOR
UNLV's Nico Clasen is among the WAC leaders in goals with four on the season, tied with the Wolverines' Owen Knecht for sixth-most. All four of the German midfielder's goals have come from the penalty spot.
KNECHT CHASING UVU HISTORY
With three games to go, Owen Knecht is hoping to break the program record for most goals scored by a freshman in a single season. The record was set in the program's inaugural season by Matt Gay, who scored seven. Knecht currently sits on four goals.
AROUND THE WAC
Last week's losses to Seattle U and San José State dropped the Wolverines to seventh place in the WAC. California Baptist jumped into fourth place after picking up three straight wins. Houston Christian and UTRGV each only have one game remaining in their WAC schedules, while the remainder of the league has three. At least seven points from the final three matches would guarantee Utah Valley's place in the WAC Tournament.
2022 WAC Standings (as of 10/25)
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Air Force- 6-0, 18 points
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San José State- 4-1-1, 13 points
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Seattle U- 4-2, 12 points
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California Baptist- 3-2-1, 10 points
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UTRGV- 3-4-1, 10 points
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Grand Canyon- 2-2-2, 8 points
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Utah Valley- 2-4, 6 points
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Houston Christian- 1-4-3, 6 points
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Utah Tech- 1-3-2, 5 points
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UNLV- 0-4-2, 2 points
