UTAH VALLEY OPENS WAC PLAY AT CALIFORNIA BAPTIST, GRAND CANYON
Utah Valley opens Western Athletic Conference play on the road this week as the team travels to play California Baptist on Thursday and Grand Canyon on Sunday. Thursday's match at CBU will kickoff at 8 p.m. (MT), while Sunday's game at GCU will begin at 2 p.m. (MT). Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+.

Utah Valley went 0-0-1 last week with a 1-1 draw on the road against Pac-12 foe California. Faith Webber secured the tie with her ninth goal of the season in the 64th minute. Webber's goal was assisted by Ruby Hladek.

Webber continues to lead the Wolverines in goals (9), points (19), shots (32), shots on goal (21), and game-winning goals (3). Heather Stainbrook, Nicole Olanda, and Hladek lead the team in assists with three apiece. Eight different Wolverines have scored a goal this season led by Webber's nine. Sadie Beardall and Sydney Bushman are the only other players with multiple goals at two apiece. Idalia Serrano leads the team in goal with five matches and 315 minutes in the box. CJ Graham leads UVU with 17 saves and a 1.23 goals against average. She also fronts the team with a .810 save percentage.

BROADCAST INFO
Utah Valley's matches at California Baptist on Thursday and Grand Canyon on Sunday will both be broadcast live on ESPN+.

ABOUT CALIFORNIA BAPTIST
California Baptist heads into Thursday's match with a 5-1-3 overall record. The Lancers are on a six-match unbeaten streak dating back to a 6-0 shutout win over UTEP. CBU's last setback was a 1-0 loss to Colorado State at home on Aug. 27. CBU played both San Jose State and Sacramento State to draws last week on the road. Redshirt senior forward Marcella Brooks leads the team in scoring with five goals. She has scored five of her seven shots on frame. Redshirt junior midfielder/forward Frida Murrieta and redshirt senior midfielder/forward Lourdes Bosch each have three goals while sophomore forward Kaylee Hauck and redshirt junior midfielder/forward Jayden Ramirez have to goals apiece. Murrieta leads the team in shots with 18. Noa Schumacher has played all nine matches in goal for the Lancers, giving up only five goals with a 0.56 goals against average. She also has 29 saves and four shutouts. 

SERIES HISTORY VS. CBU
Utah Valley and California Baptist will meet on the pitch for the ninth time on Thursday night. Utah Valley holds an all-time 4-3-1 advantage in the series. UVU heads to Riverside where the Wolverines are 0-2. UVU last played CBU in Norco, California, dropping a 1-0 decision to the Lancers on Oct. 2, 2021. Utah Valley picked up a come-from-behind 4-3 win over CBU in the last meeting between the two teams on Sept. 30 last year.  

ABOUT GRAND CANYON
Grand Canyon enters the week with a 6-3-1 record. The team holds a 5-1-0 record at home this season. The Lopes went 1-1-0 last week with a 2-1 win at home over Loyola Marymount before falling 3-2 to No. 11 Arkansas. In the win over LMU, senior forward Gianna Gourley scored her ninth goal of the season in the first half before sophomore midfielder Grace Bartlett scored her first career goal for the game winner in the second half. Arkansas scored the game winner with just 16 seconds remaining in the match to pull off the 3-2 win over GCU last week in Fayetteville. Gourley scored her 10th goal of the year in the first half before senior forward Bekah Valdez scored the equalizer with less than a minute to play, but Arkansas' goal with just 16 seconds to play would secure the Razorbacks the win. Gourley leads the team in scoring with 10 goals. Valdez has three goals while seven other players have one goal. DeAira Jackson leads the team in the box, playing all 10 matches and all 900 minutes on the season. Jackson holds an impressive 0.80 goals against average with six wins, five shutouts, and 38 saves.

SERIES HISTORY VS. GCU
Utah Valley and Grand Canyon will meet on the pitch for the 21st time on Sunday afternoon. It will be the 11th time that the two teams have played in Phoenix. Utah Valley holds an all-time 12-6-2 record against GCU. The Wolverines won both of its matches against the Lopes last season, defeating GCU 2-1 during the regular season (10/2/22) and 3-2 in double overtime in the semifinals of the WAC Tournament. 

UVU DEBUTS AT NO. 90 IN NCAA RPI
Utah Valley is ranked No. 90 in the first published NCAA RPI of the season. The Wolverines hold the second best RPI in the Western Athletic Conference trailing only Grand Canyon at No. 80. Utah Tech comes in at No. 106, followed by California Baptist (169), Abilene Christian (212), Seattle U (217), Stephen F. Austin (244), Southern Utah (292), UTRGV (300), and Tarleton State (308).

WEBBER RANKS IN THE TOP-10 NATIONALLY IN SCORING
Utah Valley junior forward Faith Webber ranks seventh nationally in total goals with nine. She also ranks seventh in goals per game (1.00), seventh in shots per game (2.33), 12th in total points (19), 12th in game-winning goals (3), and 15th in points per game (2.11). 

UVU KNOCKS OFF TOP-20 TEAM ON THE ROAD FOR A SECOND STRAIGHT SEASON
The Wolverines defeated No. 19 USC in Los Angeles on Sept. 7 to secure the team a win over a top-20 team for a second straight season. Utah Valley defeated No. 13 BYU on the road last season in Provo on Sept. 19, 2022. UVU has defeated a top-25 team three times in program history. All three wins have come in the past three seasons.