OREM, Utah — Utah Valley clinched the final spot in the WAC Tournament with a dramatic 2-2 draw with the Grand Canyon Lopes on Monday night at Clyde Field.
The win gives the Wolverines the No. 5 seed in the WAC Tournament, set to begin on Sunday in Las Vegas. Utah Valley will face the No. 4 seed hosts UNLV Rebels.
"We knew from today on you're playing for your season and taking somebody else's away," said head coach Kyle Beckerman. "We knew it was gonna be tough, but there was a lot of good stuff. We had to stay tough through their press at the end, and all in all, I'm super pleased with the guys."
Prior to the match, the team honored their four graduating seniors in Floris van Nijnanten, Leon Olacio, Ura Miura, and Michele Signorelli with a ceremony on the field.
Alejandro Silva opened the scoring for the Wolverines in the 15th minute with a screamer from about 25 yards out. The goal moves Silva into sole possession of fifth place all-time for career points with 37 (10 goals, 17 assists).
Silva had another good look at goal to close out the half with a free kick from just outside the penalty area, but his shot was saved easily by the keeper.
The Wolverines held the Lopes without a shot on goal for the entirety of the first half, but GCU broke through just after intermission. Solo Bidanessy scored on a counterattack just inside the 48th minute to tie things up.
Signorelli nearly answered right back for Utah Valley in the 50th minute, but his shot hit the bottom of the crossbar and came out.
Trevor Walk tested the keeper in the 64th minute, but his shot near the edge of the 18 was parried out for a corner.
Nik Kizerian scored arguably the goal of the season for Utah Valley off the ensuing corner. After the initial cross was cleared, Kizerian flicked the ball up in the air to himself, then struck it perfectly off the volley through the Lopes defense.
GCU answered back with a goal of their own by Zion Long when he weaved his way through the Wolverine defense in the 71st minute.
The Lopes' goal set up a nervy final 20 minutes of play, as the Wolverines tried to hold on for the tie. Utah Valley's defense held strong, keeping GCU to just a single blocked shot to close out the game.
The Wolverines will head to Las Vegas for the WAC Tournament, set to begin on Sunday. Utah Valley will play UNLV to open the tournament, with kickoff scheduled for 2 p.m. MDT. Tickets can be purchased at WACSports.com. All matches will be streamed live on ESPN+.
