The Utah Valley men's soccer team will hit the road for its first two away games of the season, taking on No. 5 Oregon State and No. 3 Washington. Monday's game against the Beavers is scheduled to kick off at 7 p.m. MDT and Friday's game against the Huskies is scheduled to begin at 8:30 p.m. MDT.
These two games are the first of seven straight on the road for the Wolverines. Utah Valley will not return to the friendly confines of Clyde Field until Oct. 13 when they face off against Houston Baptist.
LAST TIME OUT
The Wolverines battled through adversity to secure a 2-0 victory over UC Riverside in the season opener at Clyde Field on Thursday. Aaron Nixon scored the opener in the 27th minute and Ben Ortiz doubled the lead in the 77th minute. Utah Valley was forced to play the final 50 minutes of the match down a man after Samuel Krommenhoek was shown a red card in the 40th minute.
ABOUT THE OPPOSITION
The Oregon State Beavers come into 2022 ranked No. 5 in the United Soccer Coaches' preseason poll. The Beavers went 14-2-4 in 2021, winning their first-ever Pac-12 title, before losing to eventual national champions Clemson in the Elite Eight.
The Washington Huskies are coming off of a runner-up finish in last season's College Cup, falling to Clemson 2-0 in the finals. The Huskies went 18-2-2 in 2021, and were ranked No. 3 in the United Soccer Coaches' preseason poll.
The Beavers and Huskies were picked as co-favorites to win the Pac-12 Conference in the preseason coaches poll. Both squads tallied 21 points in the poll, with Oregon State earning two first place votes and Washington earning one.
Monday's meeting with the Beavers will be the first in program history. The Huskies and Wolverines have met three times, most recently in 2021 when UW edged out Utah Valley 2-1 in overtime at Clyde Field. The Huskies hold a 2-1 advantage in the series history.
HISTORY VS RANKED OPPONENTS
The Wolverines hold a 4-10-3 record all-time against ranked opponents. Utah Valley is 4-6-2 versus ranked opponents at home, with an 0-4-1 record in away or neutral settings.
UP NEXT
The Wolverines will continue their road trip in Southern California with a matchup against CSU Northridge on Sept. 8 at 6 p.m. MDT. Utah Valley will then head over to UC Santa Barbara for a match against the Gauchos on Sept. 11 at 8 p.m. MDT.
