Coming off a 5-1 defeat to UCSB, the Utah Valley men's soccer team will close out non-conference play with a trip to the Bay Area to take on the Santa Clara Broncos on Friday. Kickoff is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. MDT and will be broadcast on the WCC Network.
Following Friday's game, the Wolverines won't be in action for another three weeks. Utah Valley will return to action at Grand Canyon on October 7.
LAST TIME OUT
The Wolverines split their two-game SoCal road trip, shutting out CSUN 2-0 on Thursday before being trounced by UCSB 5-1 on Sunday. Nate Mefford was shown a red card in the first half of Sunday's game, meaning he will have to sit out Friday's meeting with Santa Clara. Mark Andros is riding a three-game goal scoring streak, including scoring what proved to be the game-winner against CSUN on Thursday. Andros' three goals are tied for the WAC lead with Air Force's Thaddaeus Dewing as of Sept. 13.
ABOUT THE BRONCOS
The Wolverines and Broncos come into Friday's meeting with identical 2-2-1 records. Santa Clara opened the season ranked No. 22 in the United Soccer Coaches' Poll, but quickly fell out of the rankings following a draw to UNLV and a loss to UC San Diego, both at home, in the opening week of the season. The Broncos come into Friday's match on a two-game win streak, defeating Grand Canyon and Utah Tech on the road.
SERIES HISTORY VS SANTA CLARA
Utah Valley and Santa Clara have met one time on the pitch, a 1-0 neutral-site win for the Wolverines in Las Vegas at the Johann Memorial Classic in 2019. Blake Frischknecht scored a dramatic game-winner in the 87th minute to secure the victory.
RECORD VS THE WEST COAST CONFERENCE
Coming into Friday, the Wolverines hold a 5-2 record all-time versus the WCC. Utah Valley holds a 3-1 record versus Gonzaga, a 1-0 record against Pacific, and an 0-1 record against Saint Mary's (CA).
PLAYOFF BOUND
Former Wolverine Jojea Kwizera and CF Montreal are headed to the MLS Cup Playoffs courtesy of a 2-2 draw with the Columbus Crew on Friday. A 3-2 victory over the Chicago Fire on Tuesday clinched a home playoff game for the Canadian club, who sit in second place in the MLS' Eastern Conference. Kwizera was selected with the 15th pick in the first round of the 2022 MLS SuperDraft in January, the first-ever draft pick from UVU.
