UTAH VALLEY SET TO OPEN HOME SLATE AGAINST NO. 19 CLEMSON ON THURSDAY
After going 1-0-1 at the OUTRIGGER Kickoff Classic in Honolulu last week, Utah Valley returns to Orem for its home opener against No. 19 Clemson on Thursday night at Clyde Field. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. The team will then travel to Pocatello, Idaho for a Sunday matchup against Idaho State.
The Wolverines opened the season with a 1-1 draw against Hawaii on Aug. 17. Utah Valley then picked up a 5-1 win over Houston Christian on Sunday afternoon on the island. Junior forward Faith Webber was named the OUTRIGGER Kickoff Classic Most Outstanding Player as she recorded three goals with one assist for seven points over the two matches. She scored the lone goal against Hawaii before recording a pair of goals, including the game winner against Houston Christian.
BROADCAST INFO
Utah Valley's match against No. 25 Clemson on Thursday night at Clyde Field will be broadcast live on ESPN+. Brandon Crow will be on the air for his eighth season calling the action for the women's soccer team. Crow will be joined by former Wolverine Breanna DeWaal Davis on the broadcast. Sunday's match at Idaho State will also be broadcast on ESPN+.
ABOUT #19 CLEMSON
Clemson heads into Thursday night's game against the Wolverines with a 1-0-1 record with a pair of shutouts. The Tigers played South Carolina to a 0-0 draw on Thursday before defeating Gardner-Webb, 9-0, on Sunday. Clemson recorded a school-record 58 shots against Gardner-Webb and held GW without a shot or a corner. Clemson has a pair of Preseason All-ACC Team honorees in senior defender Megan Bornkamp and graduate midfielder Hal Hershfelt. Graduate forward Caroline Conti also returns to the team after leading the Tigers with 13 points with five assists and four goals last season. Clemson went 8-5-5 overall in 2022 and finished ACC play with a 4-3-3 mark. The Tigers earned a No. 5 seed in last year's NCAA Tournament where they fell to Vanderbilt in the first round.
SERIES HISTORY VS. CLEMSON, ACC
Utah Valley and Clemson will meet on the pitch for the first time on Thursday night. Utah Valley holds an all-time 0-1-0 record against teams from the ACC, falling 4-1 at Miami on Aug. 28, 2011.
ABOUT IDAHO STATE
Idaho State heads into the week with a 0-2-0 record. The Bengals dropped a 5-0 decision at UC Davis in the team's season opener before falling at St. Mary's, 2-1. Freshman midfielder Isabella Winton scored ISU's lone goal last week, finding the back of the net in the 56th minute against St. Mary's. Idaho State went 3-11-2 last season with a 2-6-0 record in Big Sky play. Sunday's game against Utah Valley will be the home opener for the Bengals, who went 1-4-1 at Davis Field last season.
SERIES HISTORY VS. IDAHO STATE
Utah Valley and Idaho State will meet on the pitch for the 14th time on Sunday. Utah Valley holds an all-time 6-5-2 advantage in the series. The Wolverines have won six of the last seven matches against the Bengals, including four straight. Utah Valley took a 6-1 win over Idaho State in Orem last year. Utah Valley holds a 3-3-0 record against the Bengals at Davis Field in Pocatello. UVU has won three straight matches against ISU in Pocatello.
STAINBROOK NAMED TO MAC HERMANN TROPHY WATCH LIST
Utah Valley senior midfielder Heather Stainbrook has been named to the 2023 MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List. Stainbrook is the first UVU women's soccer player in program history to earn a spot on the Watch List.
Stainbrook, UVU's all-time leader in goals (28) and points (74), is the reigning WAC Offensive Player of the Year and was picked as the Preseason Co-Offensive Player of the Year. Stainbrook helped lead the Wolverines to a WAC regular season championship and an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament last season. The senior midfielder scored an impressive 13 goals last season with four game winners. She also had seven assists and finished the 2022 season with 33 points. Stainbrook is among 56 players named to the list in all of NCAA Division I, and one of 19 midfielders on the list. Stainbrook is a three-time All-WAC selection, including earning first-team honors in each of the last two seasons. She has also excelled academically, becoming just the sixth Utah Valley student-athlete to be named Academic All-America® by the College Sports Communicators while also becoming one of the first players in program history to receive Scholar All-America honors from the United Soccer Coaches.
The Hermann Trophy, presented annually by the Missouri Athletic Club, is the nation's highest individual honor recognizing the National Player of the Year as determined by the voting of Division I coaches who are members of United Soccer Coaches.
WEBBER NAMED WAC OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Utah Valley junior forward Faith Webber has been named the TicketSmarter Western Athletic Conference Women's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week for the week ending Aug. 21.
Webber earns the WAC Player of the Week honor after scoring three goals with one assist for seven points over the two games in the Aloha State. Webber scored the eventual game-tying goal in Utah Valley's 1-1 draw against tournament host Hawaii. She then recorded a brace with a pair of goals, including the game winner in UVU's 5-1 win over Houston Christian. Webber tallied nine shots, including six on frame over the two matches.
CLYDE FIELD MAGIC
Utah Valley holds an impressive 100-41-14 (.686) all time record at Clyde Field. The team has lost just four matches over the past four seasons on the home pitch. UVU went 8-1-1 in 2021, 4-1-2 in 2020, 8-1-1 in 2019, 3-4-1 at home in 2018, 5-1-0 in 2017, 5-2-1 during the 2016 season and were unbeaten at home during the 2015 season with a 9-0-1 mark. UVU ranked 10th in the nation in attendance in 2021 as the Wolverines drew an impressive 14,828 fans during the season, an average of 1,483 per game. UVU is 6-1-1 at Clyde Field this season. UVU has lost just two games at Clyde Field over the past two seasons.
UTAH VALLEY RANKED NO. 9 IN UNITED SOCCER COACHES PACIFIC REGION TOP 10 POLL
Utah Valley is ranked No. 9 in the first United Soccer Coaches Pacific Region Top 10 poll of the season that was released on Tuesday. The Wolverines have been a fixture in the poll over the last six seasons under head coach Chris Lemay. The team will have room to rise in the poll as UVU plays two teams ahead of them in No. 5 Utah and No. 4 USC.
WEBBER NAMED OUTRIGGER SOCCER KICKOFF TOURNAMENT MOST OUTSTANDING PLAYER, OLANDA AND BUSHMAN NAMED TO ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Utah Valley junior forward Faith Webber has been named the OUTRIGGER Soccer Kickoff Tournament Most Outstanding Player it was announced on Sunday evening. UVU's Nicole Olanda and Sydney Bushman also received honors, joining Webber on the All-Tournament team.
Webber earns the OUTRIGGER Soccer Kickoff Tournament's Most Outstanding Player honor after scoring three goals with one assist for seven points over the two games in the Aloha State. Webber scored the eventual game-tying goal in Utah Valley's 1-1 draw against tournament host Hawaii. She then recorded a brace with a pair of goals, including the game winner in UVU's 5-1 win over Houston Christian. Webber tallied nine shots, including six on frame over the two matches. Olanda, who was playing in her home state in front of numerous family and friends, recorded a pair of assists for two points, both on corner kicks. Olanda also helped the UVU defense give up just two goals over the two matches and held opponents to just 18 shots. Bushman anchored the Utah Valley defense to a pair of wins while helping the Wolverines keep possession of the ball on the offensive side. Bushman also helped offensively as she headed in a corner kick in the team's 5-1 win over Houston Christian.
UTAH VALLEY FAVORITE TO WIN 2023 WAC TITLE
Utah Valley has been selected to win the 2023 Western Athletic Conference title in the WAC Preseason Coaches Poll. Utah Valley earned the top spot in the WAC Preseason Coaches' Poll, tallying 79 points and seven of the nine first-place votes. Grand Canyon was second at 73 points and two first place votes. Seattle U earned the third spot with 66 points and one first-place vote. California Baptist (56 points) was fourth in the poll, followed by Utah Tech (44 points), Stephen F. Austin (41 points), Southern Utah (36 points), Tarleton State (24 points), Abilene Christian (17 points), and UTRGV (14 points). Utah Valley won the 2022 WAC regular season title and earned the program's first-ever at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament.
SHEPHERD GREMILLION, STAINBROOK, AND WEBBER NAMED TO UNITED SOCCER COACHES' PLAYERS TO WATCH LIST
Utah Valley senior defender Jenna Shepherd Gremillion, senior midfielder Heather Stainbrook, and junior forward Faith Webber have been named to the 2023 United Soccer Coaches Players to Watch List.
UTAH VALLEY EARNS UNITED SOCCER COACHES TEAM ACADEMIC AWARD
Utah Valley earned the United Soccer Coaches Team Academic Award. The Wolverines hold an impressive 3.65 team grade-point average. UVU was one of 494 women's soccer teams in the nation among all divisions who posted a team grade point average of 3.0 or higher, thereby earning the United Soccer Coaches Team Academic Award for the 2022-23 academic year.
