Utah Valley hosts WAC foe Grand Canyon for a Senior Night showdown on Monday at Clyde Field. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. MDT, with the Senior Night ceremony taking place 20 minutes prior. The match will be streamed on ESPN+.
The Wolverines will be honoring four of their seniors on Monday — Floris van Nijnanten, Michele Signorelli, Ura Miura, and Leon Olacio.
Monday's match figures to be a dramatic one, as both the Wolverines and Lopes vie for the final WAC Tournament spot. A win or draw for Utah Valley would see them through to the WAC Tournament, while GCU needs a win to get in. The Wolverines were in the same situation last year, and pulled off a thrilling come-from-behind victory over California Baptist. That game featured the latest regulation game-winning goal in program history, scored by Mark Andros in the 88th minute.
LAST TIME OUT
A chippy and hotly-contested showdown between the Wolverines and California Baptist ended in a 1-1 draw. Both goals came via the penalty spot, with CBU's Luis Mueller opening the scoring in the 25th minute. Alejandro Silva equalized in the 63rd minute after Omar Yehya earned the penalty. Parker Allen picked up five saves — the most of his UVU career — to lead the Wolverine defense.
BELLINI EARNS WAC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS
Junior defender Kendi Bellini was named the WAC Defensive Player of the Week for the match week ending on Oct. 22. Bellini contributed to a third-consecutive home shutout, and allowed just two SOG from UTRGV on Saturday. Bellini also made a sliding block to prevent a potential UTRGV equalizer early in the 2nd half of Saturday's game.
CLYDE FIELD FORTRESS
Since the start of last season, Utah Valley is 8-0-3 in games at Clyde Field, and have allowed just 4 goals in those 11 games, which is the longest unbeaten streak in program history. In 2022, Utah Valley went a perfect 5-0 at home, and allowed just one goal in 450 minutes played at Clyde Field. Of UVU's 7 wins in 2022, 6 of them were shutouts, including 4 at home.
SERIES HISTORY VS GRAND CANYON
After winning the first three matchups vs GCU, Utah Valley has won just one of the last six meetings. Each of those six meetings were decided by one goal, including four-straight overtime games from 2017-19. The Wolverines are 3-1 at home vs GCU.
HOME STRENGTH VS ROAD WOES
UVU is unbeaten in 11-straight games at Clyde Field, while GCU is just 1-6-1 on the road this season, with an 0-3 mark away in WAC play. The Lopes do have a road win over then-RV Creighton and a road tie versus then-No. 2 SMU.
UP NEXT
Should the Wolverines take care of business on Monday with a win or a draw, Utah Valley will qualify for the WAC Tournament, set to begin Nov. 5 in Las Vegas. Further information about game times would be posted following Monday's game.
