UTAH VALLEY SET TO TAKE ON COLORADO COLLEGE IN HOME OPENER
Utah Valley will host Mountain West foe Colorado College on Monday night in the team's home opener at Clyde Field. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
The Wolverines head into Thursday's match fresh off a 1-1 draw on the road against Boise State on Thursday night. Sydney Bushman scored a goal in the 19th minute to help secure the tie against the Broncos. Jenna Shepherd and Julianna Carter were credited with assists on the score.
Utah Valley returns 13 players, including eight starters from a team that went 13-7-2 last season and finished second in WAC play with a 6-2-2 mark. All-region honorees Jenna Shepherd and Heather Stainbrook return to the squad for their junior campaigns this season.
Shepherd earned her second straight First Team All-WAC honor last year and earned Second Team All-Pacific accolades. She played and started 21 matches in 2021 and anchored the Wolverine defense to 11 shutouts, including 10 shutout victories. She also helped offensively as an attacking defender with five points, including one goal and two assists. Stainbrook is a three-time All-WAC honoree and earned First Team All-WAC honors last season after scoring a team-best nine goals. She ranked second on the team with an impressive 22 points, including nine goals and four assists. She also ranked second on the team with 48 shots, including 24 shots on frame. She earned Third Team All-Pacific honors.
Strikers Nicole Ray and Julianna Carter return to the team after scoring five and three goal, respectively last season. WAC Freshman of the Year Breanna Eves is back after finding the back of the net three times last year, along with 2021 starting defenders Sydney Bushman, Nicole Olanda, and Megan Sullivan.
BROADCAST INFO
Monday night's match against Colorado College will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with Brandon Crow calling the action. All UVU home matches will be broadcast on ESPN+ this season.
ABOUT COLORADO COLLEGE
Colorado College picked up a 2-1 road win at UC Santa Barbara on Thursday night in the teams season opener. Senior Adelaide Gaffney scored the first two goals of her career in the win over UCSB. The Tigers are in their 38th season as a Division I program and are members of the Mountain West Conference. Colorado College posted a 5-10-3 overall record and a 4-4-3 mark in the Mountain West last season. The team finished in a tie for sixth place in the conference standings, but just missed a berth in the league tournament due to tiebreakers. Junior Lily Byrne and sophomore Kaelin Enga are the team's top returning scorers with each recording two goals and an assist in 2021. The team welcomes back 16 returners are one transfer and seven freshmen. The team was picked to finish 11th in the 12-team Mountain West Conference preseason coaches' poll. Head coach Keri Sanchez is in her first season with the team. She coached the past 13 seasons at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in Claremont, Calif.
SERIES HISTORY VS. COLORADO COLLEGE
Utah Valley and Colorado College will meet on the pitch for the third time on Monday night. Colorado College holds an all-time 1-0-1 advantage in the series. Friday night's match will mark the first time that the two teams have played in Orem. The previous two matches took place in Colorado Springs. CC took a 1-0 win the last time the two teams met on Sept. 11, 2016. The first meeting in the series took place on Nov. 4, 2004 with the two teams playing to a 0-0 double overtime tie.
All-Time Results vs. Colorado College
Sept. 11, 2016 Colorado College def. Utah Valley, 1-0. Colorado Springs, Colorado
Nov. 4, 2004 Utah Valley ties Colorado College, 0-0 (2OT) Colorado Springs, Colorado
UVU IN HOME OPENERS
The Wolverines hold an all-time 10-6-3 record in home openers at Clyde Field.
CLYDE FIELD MAGIC
Utah Valley holds an impressive 92-40-13 all time record at Clyde Field. The team has lost just eight matches over the past five 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 currently holds a seven-match unbeaten streak at Clyde Field.
WOLVERINES OPEN SEASON WITH 1-1 DRAW AT BOISE STATE
Sydney Bushman scored a goal in the 19th minute to help lead the Utah Valley women's soccer team to a 1-1 tie at Boise State on Thursday in the team's season opener at Lincoln Recreation Field.
Heather Stainbrook sent a high lofted corner kick into the box from the left side in the 19th minute to Jenna Shepherd who headed it forward. Julianna Carter then got a foot on it and sent it to Bushman who then flicked it up and into the goal to give the Wolverines a 1-0 lead.
Boise State had an opportunity in the 49th minute after sending a corner kick into the box. But UVU keeper Idalia Serrano jumped up in the air high enough to grab the ball and make the save in the 49th minute.
The Broncos scored the equalizer in the 71st minute after Morgan Stone fired a shot from just outside the 18 to the left side of the goal to tie the game, 1-1.
Utah Valley outshot Boise State 11-10, including a 6-3 advantage on goal. Faith Webber led the Wolverines with four shots against BSU, including one on frame. Nicole Ray and Hannah Lee each had two shots.
The Utah Valley defense was impressive, blocking and deflecting numerous attacks from the Broncos. Serrano led the Wolverines in the box with two saves.
UVU'S SHEPHERD NAMED TO TOPDRAWERSOCCER.COM'S TOP-100 WATCH LIST
Utah Valley junior defender Jenna Shepherd has been named to TopDrawerSoccer.com's Division I Preseason Top-100 watch list, highlighting the top women's soccer players in the nation. Shepherd was listed at No. 58 on TopDrawerSoccer.com top-100 watch list. She was the only player from the Western Athletic Conference named to the list.
