Coming off a pair of dominant shutout victories last weekend, the Utah Valley men's soccer returns home for the regular season finale this Friday against the California Baptist Lancers. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. MDT, with senior night festivities scheduled to begin at 5:45.

The Wolverines will be honoring this year's senior class — Easton Embley, Samuel Krommenhoek, Aidan Dayton, and Nico Torres — as well as former Wolverine Jojea Kwizera, who missed out on the senior night festivities last year. 

WHAT'S AT STAKE

Utah Valley comes into Friday's matchup looking to secure its place in the WAC Tournament, set to begin on November 9 at California Baptist in Riverside, Calif. The Wolverines hold a slim two-point advantage over seventh-place UTRGV, with the top six teams qualifying for the tournament. A win or a tie would secure at worst the sixth seed for the Wolverines by virtue of winning the regular season meeting against the Vaqueros. Depending on other results around the WAC, Utah Valley could rise as high as third. 

ABOUT THE LANCERS

CBU has bounced back from a rocky start to conference play with a five-game unbeaten run that has the Lancers in third place heading into the final matchday of the season. Most recently, the Lancers hosted UNLV and Utah Tech, drawing the Rebels 1-1 and blanking the Trailblazers 4-0. CBU is hoping to earn a first-round bye in the WAC Tournament with a win and a Seattle U loss or tie.

Luis Mueller has been a dangerous playmaker all season for the Lancers, racking up six goals and six assists. Mueller recorded two braces this season — against Houston Christian and Seattle U — and recently picked up WAC Offensive Player of the Week honors for the week ending Oct. 25. 

SERIES HISTORY VS CBU

Since the Lancers made the move to Division I prior to the 2018 season, the two sides have met four times on the pitch, with Utah Valley holding a 3-1 advantage. Last season, the Wolverines claimed a 2-1 victory to spoil CBU's senior night. Mateo Palomino scored the game-winning goal in the 77th minute. 

DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS

The Utah Valley defense has kicked it into high gear in the home stretch of the season, allowing just two goals over its last six games. In WAC play, the Wolverines have allowed the second-fewest goals with seven.

CLYDE FIELD FORTRESS

Head coach Kyle Beckerman has emphasized turning Clyde Field into a fortress for his team, and the Wolverines have certainly taken that to heart. Not only is Utah Valley undefeated at home this season, the Wolverines have yet to allow a goal at home in four home matches thus far. 

FRESHMAN TANDEM

Leading the Wolverines in goals scored are freshmen Owen Knecht and Mark Andros. Andros capped off Utah Valley's 4-0 win over UNLV on Sunday with a 90th minute goal to tie Knecht for the team lead with four. Andros also leads the team in points with 11.

WAC Standings (As of 11/2)

1. z-Air Force- 6-1-1, 19 points

2. x-Seattle U- 5-3, 15 points

3. x-California Baptist- 4-2-2, 14 points

4. x-Grand Canyon- 4-2-2 14 points

5. x-San José State- 4-2-2, 14 points

6. Utah Valley- 4-4, 12 points

7. UTRGV- 3-4-1, 10 points

8. e-Houston Christian- 1-4-3, 6 points

9. e-Utah Tech- 1-5-2, 5 points

10. e-UNLV- 0-5-3, 3 points

z: Clinched WAC Title & first-round bye

x: Clinched WAC Tournament spot

e: Eliminated from Tournament contention