UTAH VALLEY OPENS WAC PLAY AT NM STATE, SAM HOUSTON
Utah Valley opens Western Athletic Conference play on the road this week as the team travels to play New Mexico State on Friday and Sam Houston on Sunday. Kickoff for Friday's match is set for 7 p.m. MT, while Sunday's game will begin at noon MT.
The Wolverines head into this week's matches fresh off one of the team's biggest wins in program history. UVU defeated 13th-ranked BYU 4-2 on the road in Provo on Saturday night. Hannah Lee, Heather Stainbrook, Isabella Steward, and Julianna Carter registered goals for UVU in the win. The win marks UVU's highest ranked win in school history. UVU's other ranked win was a 1-0 victory over No. 25 Memphis in the first round of the 2020 NCAA Tournament.
Utah Valley has scored 17 goals this season with Carter and Stainbrook leading the team with four goals apiece. Faith Webber, Nicole Ray, Sydney Bushman, and Isabella Steward each have two goals. Lee has one goal. The Wolverines have an impressive 18 assists coming from 10 different players. Webber leads the Wolverines in assists (6), shots (24), and shots on goal (11). Idalia Serrano has allowed seven goals in her seven matches while collecting 17 saves with a pair of sheets.
BROADCAST INFO
Utah Valley's match at New Mexico State will be streamed on WAC International TV, which is available at WACinternational.tv. Sunday's match at Sam Houston will not be broadcast.
ABOUT NM STATE
New Mexico State enters the week with a 3-2-1 record and have won three straight matches. The Aggies did not give up a single goal in the month of September as the team picked up shutout wins at home over UTEP, Portland State, and Nevada. NM State most recently defeated Nevada 4-0 on Sept. 9. Four different players scored in the win over the Wolf Pack, including sophomore midfielder Bianca Chacon, freshman defender Jena Johannes, junior midfielder Loma McNeese, and freshman forward Sydnee Johnson. Freshman midfielder Xitlaly Hernandez assisted three of NM State's four goals in the win over Nevada. Chacon and McNeese lead the team with three goals apiece this season, while Hernandez fronts the squad with three assists. Johnson leads the team with 15 shots. In goal, Makenna Gottschalk leads the Aggies with 23 saves and three shutout wins. As a team, NM State averages 2.17 goals a game while allowing 1.0.
SERIES HISTORY VS. NM STATE
Utah Valley and New Mexico State will meet up on the pitch for the 14th time on Friday night. Utah Valley has never dropped a game to the Aggies as the team holds a 10-0-3 all-time series lead. UVU is 4-0-1 against NM State all-time in Las Cruces. The two teams met two times last season with Utah Valley winning both of those matches, 2-0.
ABOUT SAM HOUSTON
Sam Houston holds a 1-3-1 overall record. The team picked up its first win of the season last week, defeating Louisiana Tech at home, 2-0. The Bearkats opened the season with a pair of road losses to McNeese and Texas A&M before returning home where it has gone 1-1-1 with a loss to Houston, a draw against Houston Baptist, and the win over Louisiana Tech. In last week's 2-0 win over Louisiana Tech, freshman midfielder Pam Murray scored the game winner and freshman defender Alesandra Maldonado recorded the insurance goal to help head coach Sonia Curvelo pick up her first win with the team. Senior forward Lexi Primacio and graduate forward Kailey Pena have also scored goals this season for the Kats. Junior Savannah Hall and senior Tatum Krueger have split time in goal this season with Krueger playing four games and Hall two. Krueger leads the team in the box with a 1.26 goals allowed average and 17 saves. As a team, Sam Houston has scored four goals while giving up 10.
SERIES HISTORY VS. SAM HOUSTON
Utah Valley and Sam Houston will meet on the pitch for just the third time on Sunday afternoon. The series is tied at 1-1. The two teams first met in 2009 with the Bearkats taking a 3-2 win in Huntsville. Utah Valley defeated Sam Houston 6-1 in the WAC Tournament quarterfinals last season in Abilene, Texas.
UTAH VALLEY REMAINS NO. 5 IN UNITED SOCCER COACHES PACIFIC REGION TOP-10 POLL
Despite its win at No. 13 BYU last week, Utah Valley remains No. 5 in the United Soccer Coaches Pacific Region Top-10 poll. UCLA holds the top spot in the regional poll.
UNITED SOCCER COACHES PACIFIC REGION POLL
1. UCLA 6-0-0
2. Stanford 6-1-0
3. Washington 5-0-2
4. Colorado 5-1-2
5. Utah Valley 4-1-2
6. Washington State 4-1-1
7. Utah 4-1-2
8. USC 3-1-1
9. California 2-1-3
10. Grand Canyon 4-2-1
UTAH VALLEY UPSETS NO. 13 BYU IN PROVO
Four different Wolverines found the back of the net to lead Utah Valley to a come-from-behind 4-2 road win at No. 13 BYU on Saturday night in a UCCU Crosstown Clash game at South Field in Provo.
The win over the 13th-ranked Cougars is the highest nationally ranked opponent that UVU has ever beaten, surpassing its win in 2021 over No. 25 Memphis in the NCAA Tournament. The win is also its first win over BYU in program history. The Wolverines did tie No. 23 UCF 0-0 earlier this season at Clyde Field.
