Utah Valley heads to Las Vegas for the 2023 WAC Tournament on the campus of UNLV. The Wolverines earned the No. 5 seed and will face off with the host Rebels on Sunday in the quarterfinals. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. MDT and the match will be streamed live on ESPN+.
The Wolverines closed the regular season on a five-game unbeaten streak, picking up two wins and three draws to secure the final WAC Tournament spot. This is the longest unbeaten streak for Utah Valley since starting 3-0-2 to begin the 2021 campaign. The Wolverines haven't had a six-game unbeaten run since 2018, when Utah Valley rattled off six straight wins.
Utah Valley looks to advance out of the WAC quarterfinals for the first time since 2019, when the Wolverines topped Kansas City 3-0. That was also the last year Utah Valley made the WAC title game, falling to Seattle U in the finals.
LAST TIME OUT
Utah Valley grinded out a 2-2 draw against GCU to earn the final WAC Tournament spot. Alejandro Silva scored the opener in the 15th minute to give the Wolverines the lead. The Lopes answered back with a goal right after halftime. Nik Kizerian put the Wolverines back on top in the 65th with arguably the goal of the season, a volley that wound its way past two defenders and the goalie just inside the near post. GCU tied it again in the 71st minute, but Utah Valley was able to hold on for the tie.
SERIES HISTORY VS UNLV
UVU and UNLV tied in their regular season meeting at Peter Johann Memorial Field. The Wolverines were without captain Alejandro Silva, who was serving a one-game suspension for yellow card accumulation. Utah Valley is unbeaten in their last three games against the Rebels, and have not lost in regulation to UNLV since 2016, which was also the last time these two teams met in the WAC Tournament.
DOBEK-PIETROWSKI EARNS WAC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS
Defender Tom Dobek-Pietrowski earned UVU's second-consecutive WAC Defensive Player of the Week honors, following Ken Bellini. Dobek-Pietrowski and the Wolverine defense held CBU without an open-play goal on Thursday, then held GCU to five total shots en route to a pair of draws.
CLYDE FIELD FORTRESS
Since the start of last season, Utah Valley is 8-0-4 in games at Clyde Field, and have allowed just 6 goals in those 12 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.
UVU FINISHES AMONG NATION'S BEST IN ATTENDANCE
Utah Valley ranked 29th in the nation in home attendance, with an average attendance of 1,171. It is the highest average attendance in the WAC and one of just two schools in the league to average more than 1,000 (California Baptist, 1,014). Utah Valley also ranked 7th among schools west of the Rockies, behind Cal Poly, Portland, Washington, UCSB, Stanford, and UCLA. Utah Valley has ranked among the top 30 teams in the nation in average attendance every year in program history, including ranking 27th in 2022.
SILVA MAKES HISTORY VS GCU
With his goal against GCU on Monday, Alejandro Silva became just the third player in UVU men's soccer history to reach double digits in career goals (10) and assists (17). The other two players to reach that milestone are Karson Payton (2014-17) and Zach Maas (2017-21).
UP NEXT
If the Wolverines make it past UNLV on Sunday, they will face off with the conference champions Seattle U on Wednesday. Kickoff versus the Redhawks — who are now ranked No. 10 in the nation — would be at 5 p.m. MDT. All WAC Tournament games are being streamed live on ESPN+.
