Utah Valley returns to Clyde Field for its first WAC home game of the season, taking on the defending conference champion Air Force Falcons on Thursday night. The Wolverines will then hit the road for their last WAC road game, taking on the UNLV Rebels on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. MDT.
Thursday's match is set to kick off at 6 p.m. MDT and will be streamed live on ESPN+. Tickets are available at GoUVU.com/MSOCtix. Sunday's game will be streamed on WAC International.
Both the Wolverines (1-6-4, 0-2-1 WAC) and the Falcons (0-11-1, 0-3 WAC) are looking to pick up their first wins of the WAC season. Utah Valley leads the all-time series at 6-1-2, with an unbeaten 3-0-1 record at Clyde Field.
The Wolverines hold a narrow 6-5 lead in the all-time series against UNLV (4-5-2, 2-1 WAC). Utah Valley has won the last two games by an aggregate score of 8-1, and three of the last four overall. The Wolverines haven't lost in regulation to the Rebels since 2016.
LAST TIME OUT
Utah Valley fell 2-1 on the road at Utah Tech last week, despite holding the lead into the final 20 minutes of the game. Alejandro Silva scored his third goal of the season in the 33rd minute on a free kick from just outside the penalty area, his second set piece goal of the year. The Trailblazers equalized in the 73rd minute and took the lead for good in the 86th.
CLYDE FIELD FORTRESS
Since the start of last season, Utah Valley is 6-0-2 in games at Clyde Field, and have allowed just 3 goals in those 8 games. In 2022, Utah Valley went a perfect 5-0 at home, and allowed just one goal in 450 minutes played at Clyde Field. The Wolverines out-shot their opposition 65-37 at home, with a dominating 33-7 advantage in shots on goal. At the end of the regular season, Utah Valley ranked 23rd in the nation in shutout percentage with a .467 mark and seven clean sheets overall. Of UVU's 7 wins in 2022, 6 of them were shutouts, including 4 at home.
STAY ON TARGET
Redshirt Junior Omar Yehya is leading the WAC in shot accuracy and third in total shots. Yehya is tied for the team lead in goals with three, while also leading the team in shots and shots on goal.
SILVA CLIMBING LEADERBOARDS
Junior MF Alejandro Silva is moving up the UVU leaderboards in numerous categories. Silva ranks third all-time with 16 career assists, and seventh all-time with 32 career points (8 goals, 16 assists). Silva has also moved up to 10th all-time in career minutes played, passing former Utah Valley GK Joseph Wheelwright.
ABOUT THE FALCONS
After nearly running the table in the WAC last season, Air Force has struggled to find their footing this season. The Falcons returned WAC leading scorer and preseason Offensive Player of the Year Thad Dewing, but he has only played in eight games and has yet to find the back of the net this season. Air Force also graduated nine seniors from last season's championship team.
ABOUT THE REBELS
UNLV has bounced back from a dismal 2022 campaign with a solid start to the season in 2023. The Rebels went winless in WAC play last season (0-6-3), but have picked up two wins over San Jose State and Air Force thus far. UNLV is led by senior midfielder Nico Lopez, who has a team-leading nine points (two goals, five assists) on the season. The Rebels will host Utah Tech on Thursday before hosting the Wolverines on Sunday.
UP NEXT
Utah Valley will return home for the final three games of the regular season, starting with a showdown against the UTRGV Vaqueros on Saturday, Oct. 21. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. MDT and the match will be streamed on ESPN+.
