UTAH VALLEY TRAVELS TO PLAY #24 PORTLAND ON SATURDAY NIGHT
Utah Valley is stepping out of WAC play this week as the team travels to the City of Roses to take on No. 24 Portland on Saturday night at Merlo Field. The game is set to kickoff at 8 p.m. MT and will be broadcast on the WCC Network.
Saturday night's game against the Pilots will mark the fourth nationally ranked team that the Wolverines have played this season. UVU is 1-1-1 in games against a nationally ranked opponent this season with a draw against then No. 23 UCF, a loss to then No. 18 Alabama, and a win at then No. 13 BYU. The win at No. 13 BYU is the highest ranked win in Utah Valley program history.
The Wolverines head into this week's match at Portland after opening WAC play last week on the road with a 1-0-1 mark. UVU played New Mexico State to a 1-1 draw before picking up a 1-0 win at Sam Houston. Heather Stainbrook scored the goal in the draw at NM State, while Nicole Ray scored the game winner at Sam Houston.
Utah Valley has scored 19 goals this season with Stainbrook leading the team with five goals. Julianna Carter is second on the team with four goals, followed by Nicole Ray with three. Faith Webber, Sydney Bushman, Isabella Steward each have two goals and Hannah Lee has one goal. The Wolverines have an impressive 20 assists coming from 12 different players. Webber leads the Wolverines in assists (5), shots (31), and shots on goal (13). Idalia Serrano has led UVU in the box with a 1.08 goals against average. She also has a team-high 25 saves with two solo shutouts and one combined clean sheet.
BROADCAST INFO
Utah Valley's match at Portland will be streamed on the WCC Network, which is available at WCCsports.com. Chris Clayton will be on the call.
ABOUT PORTLAND
Portland has a strong soccer tradition. The team owns two national titles, winning the championship in both 2002 and 2005. The Pilots are one of only five programs to win multiple NCAA titles in the sport. Portland enters Saturday night's match against the Wolverines with a 5-0-4 overall record. The team entered the United Soccer Coaches Top-25 poll this week for the first time since the 2014 season. The No. 24 ranked Pilots have yet to drop a match this season after playing Oregon to a 1-1 draw last Friday. The team is currently on its best nine-game start since the 2010 season, the year the team was ranked as high as No. 2 in the nation. Junior forward Nedya Sawan scored the goal against Oregon. She has scored a goal in each of Portland's last three matches. Sawan leads the team with four goals. She also fronts the team with nine points, 36 shots, and 14 shots on goal. She has taken the team's lone penalty kick of the season. Sophomore keeper Bre Norris leads the team in the box with a 0.26 goals against average. She has given up just two goals in her eight matches. Norris has 33 saves and six shutouts.
SERIES HISTORY VS. PORTLAND
Utah Valley and Portland will meet up on the pitch for just the second time on Saturday night. Portland won the lone match between the two teams, taking a 2-1 win in Portland on Sept. 7, 2018.
UTAH VALLEY IS NO. 6 IN LATEST UNITED SOCCER COACHES PACIFIC REGION TOP-10 POLL
After opening WAC play with a draw at New Mexico State and a win at Sam Houston last week, Utah Valley dropped just one spot to No. 6 in the latest United Soccer Coaches Pacific Region Top-10 poll. UCLA holds the top spot in the regional poll.
After debuting at No. 10 in the week one poll, Utah Valley has since moved up four spots to No. 6 in the latest poll. The Wolverines are the only WAC team and the only non-Pac-12 team in the poll. The Pacific region consists of teams from the Mountain West Conference, Pac-12, and WAC
