UTAH VALLEY TRAVELS TO THE LONE STAR STATE TO TAKE ON TARLETON STATE, ABILENE CHRISTIAN
Utah Valley heads out on the road this week for its final two WAC road games of the season. The Wolverines will take on Tarleton State on Thursday night in Stephenville before playing at Abilene Christian on Sunday morning. Kickoff for Thursday's match against TSU is set for 6 p.m. (MT), while Sunday's game at ACU will begin at 10 a.m. (MT).
Utah Valley swept a pair of WAC home games last week, shutting out Stephen F. Austin, 10-0, before downing UT Rio Grande Valley, 4-1, at Clyde Field. Nixan Jackson recorded the 12th hat trick in UVU history in the win over SFA, while Faith Webber and Heather Stainbrook each tallied braces. CJ Graham and Idalia Serrano combined for the shutout in the box. Webber recorded another brace, including the game winner in UVU's 4-1 win over UTRGV.
Webber continues to lead the Wolverines in goals (14), points (31), shots (51), shots on goal (32), and game-winning goals (4). Ruby Hladek leads the team in assists with nine. 13 different Wolverines have scored a goal this season led by Webber's 14. Stainbrook ranks second on the team with five goals, followed by Jackson with four and Manthy Brady with three. Graham leads UVU in goal with a 4-0-3 record. She also fronts the team with 23 saves and a 0.97 goals against average. Graham has two combined shutouts on the year.
BROADCAST INFO
Utah Valley's matches at Tarleton State and Abilene Christian will be both be broadcast live on ESPN+.
ABOUT TARLETON STATE
Tarleton State heads into Thursday's match with a 4-6-3 overall record and a 1-1-1 WAC mark. The team went 1-1-0 last week on the road with a 1-0 win at UTRGV, and a 2-1 loss at Abilene Christian. In the win at UTRGV, sophomore defender Rylee Low scored in the 78th minute to secure the win. Sophomore keeper Mikayla Kendall picked up her second shutout of the season in the box against the Vaqueros. Sophomore forward Avery Harr scored in the 14th minute to tie the match at ACU, but the Wildcats found the back of the net in the 37th minute to win the match, 2-1. Low leads Tarleton State in scoring with four goals this year, followed by Mila Bettinelli with three. Jenaya Brown, Harr, Jaycie Bass, and Sydney Rouillard each have two. Kendall fronts the team in the box with four wins and two solo shutouts. She also holds a 1.82 goals against average. TSU has scored 18 goals while giving up 21 this year.
SERIES HISTORY VS. TSU
Utah Valley and Tarleton State will meet on the pitch for just the second time on Thursday night. Utah Valley holds an all-time 1-0-0 advantage in the series, taking a 6-1 win last season in Stephenville. Heather Stainbrook recorded a brace while Faith Webber, Julianna Carter, Haley Richardson, and Madeline Moore also found the back of the net in last season's win over the Texans.
ABOUT ABILENE CHRISTIAN
Abilene Christian enters the week with a 7-4-1 overall record. The team is 2-1-0 in WAC play after picking up a 2-1 win at home on Sunday over Tarleton State. Junior forward Chayse Thorn and sophomore forward Amelia Leggett scored the goals in ACU's win over TSU. Redshirt sophomore Savanna Alba picked up the win in the box. Thorn leads the team in scoring with 12 goals, followed by Taylor Denn and Leggett with three apiece. Peyton Hill has two goals, while three other players have one. Sophomore goalkeeper Lili Ross leads the team in the box with a 4-2-1 record. She has 21 saves and holds a 1.93 goals against average. As a team, ACU has scored 23 goals while giving up 14 on the season.
SERIES HISTORY VS. ACU
Utah Valley and Abilene Christian will meet on the pitch for only the second time on Sunday. Utah Valley won the only match between the two teams last season, taking a 4-1 win in Abilene last year. Heather Stainbrook recorded a brace while Faith Webber and Hannah Lee also scored in the win.
NIXAN JACKSON NAMED WAC OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Utah Valley freshman forward Nixan Jackson has been named the TicketSmarter Western Athletic Conference Women's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week. Jackson, from Mapleton, Utah, led Utah Valley to a 2-0 record last week with wins over Stephen F. Austin and UT Rio Grande Valley. The freshman forward recorded the 12th hat trick in UVU history with three goals in UVU's 10-0 shutout win over SFA. She then scored a goal in UVU's 4-1 win over UTRGV. Over the two matches last week, Jackson scored four goals on four shots for a perfect 1.000 shot percentage.
WEBBER RANKS SECOND IN THE NATION IN SCORING
Utah Valley junior forward Faith Webber ranks second nationally in total goals with 14. She also ranks fourth in total points (31), fourth in shots on goal per game (2.46), fifth in goals per game (1.08), sixth in points per game (2.38), eighth in game-winning goals (4), 18th in shot accuracy (.627), and 23rd in shots per game (3.92).
WEBBER TIES UVU SINGLE SEASON GOALS RECORD
Faith Webber has tied the Utah Valley single season goals record with 14 goals—a record that she set last season. Webber recorded a pair of braces in UVU's two wins over Stephen F. Austin and UTRGV last week to tie the record of 14. It took Webber 20 games last season to score the 14 goals. She has scored her 14 goals this season through only 13 matches.
UVU RANKS NO. 78 IN LATEST NCAA RPI
Utah Valley is ranked No. 78 in the latest NCAA RPI. The Wolverines hold the best RPI in the Western Athletic Conference. Grand Canyon is second at 100, followed by Utah Tech (125), California Baptist (157), Abilene Christian (209), Seattle U (232), Tarleton State (283), UTRGV (293), and Stephen F. Austin (301).
UVU RANKS FOURTH NATIONALLY IN AVERAGE ATTENDANCE
Utah Valley averages 2,430 fans per game at Clyde Field this season. The Wolverines rank fourth nationally in average attendance behind only South Carolina at 4,264, BYU at 3,630, and North Carolina at 2,430 fans per game. UVU's 2,430 average attendance sits just ahead of Arkansas at 2,397. Texas A&M is sixth at 2,258, followed by Michigan State in seventh at 1,776.
BRACE CITY
Utah Valley players have produced nine braces this season. Faith Webber leads the way with five, followed by Heather Stainbrook with two, and Manthy Brady and Nixan Jackson with one each.
UVU BREAKS SCHOOL RECORD FOR POINTS AND ASSISTS IN 10-0 WIN OVER SFA
Utah Valley broke the school record for assists in a single match with 12, surpassing the previous mark of 10 assists set by both the 2017 and 2019 teams. The team also broke the program record for points in a single match with 32, breaking the previous record of 30 points set by both the 2005 and 2019 teams. UVU's 10 goals in the game are the second-most goals scored in a single match, falling just one goal short of the UVU record of 11 goals set against Delaware State in 2005.
JACKSON RECORDS 12TH HAT TRICK IN UVU HISTORY
Nixan Jackson recorded the 12th hat trick in Utah Valley history in a 10-0 shutout win over Stephen F. Austin on Sept. 28. Jackson recorded goals in the 44th, 70th, and 85th minutes to secure the hat trick.
UTAH VALLEY MOVES UP ONE SPOT TO NO. 5 IN LATEST UNITED SOCCER COACHES PACIFIC REGION TOP 10 POLL
Utah Valley has moved up one spot to No. 5 in the United Soccer Coaches Pacific Region Top 10 Poll released on Tuesday. The ranking matches the team's highest ranking of the season. The No. 5 ranking matches Utah Valley's highest ranking of the season as the Wolverines were also ranked fifth in the Sept. 12 poll. The No. 5 ranking is the second-highest ranking in program history. UVU is the only WAC team in the poll and is one of only two teams featured in the poll not from the Pac-12 Conference.
