Utah Valley heads to Southern California for a pair of games against Big West foes, taking on the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos on Saturday, before heading to San Luis Obispo for a showdown with the Cal Poly Mustangs on Tuesday.
Both games are slated for 8 p.m. MDT starts, and will be streamed live on ESPN+. Live stats will be available at UVUStats.com.
The two games in SoCal mark the end of a four-game West Coast road trip for the Wolverines, as well as the last two road games of the non-conference slate. Utah Valley will look to bounce back from a pair of defeats at the hands of Oregon State and now-No. 3 Portland. The Wolverines will also be looking to avenge last year's loss at the hand of the Gauchos. UCSB dealt Utah Valley a 5-1 defeat at Harder Stadium a year ago.
SERIES HISTORY
Utah Valley has only played UCSB and Cal Poly one time apiece. Utah Valley is 0-1-0 versus the Gauchos and 1-0-0 against the Mustangs. The Wolverines were slated to host UCSB in 2018, but the game was canceled due to wildfire smoke. Cal Poly visited Orem to begin the 2019 season in a game that ended as a 1-0 victory for Utah Valley. Assistant coach Blake Frischknecht scored the lone goal in that game, his first of a UVU record-setting 13 that season.
UVU VERSUS THE BIG WEST
In the program's 10-season history, Utah Valley has faced teams out of the Big West more than any other non-conference opponent. Entering this week, Utah Valley holds a 10-9-1 record against teams in the Big West. The next-most games the Wolverines have played against one league is 10 — including this year's games — against the WCC. Utah Valley has played at least one game versus the Big West in each non-COVID season so far.
SIGNORELLI NEARS MILESTONE GOAL
Grad transfer forward Michele Signorelli is one goal away from reaching 50 career goals at the collegiate level. Signorelli scored 43 goals over three seasons at the JUCO level with Arizona Western before scoring five goals at St. Francis Brooklyn last year. Signorelli scored his first UVU goal against Western Michigan on August 27, putting him at 49.
ABOUT UCSB
The Gauchos are off to a 2-2 start to the season. UCSB has picked up wins over Pacific and UNLV, while falling to Oral Roberts and Portland. Saturday's game is the second of three-straight games versus WAC opposition for UCSB, who will travel to Phoenix to face GCU next week. The Gauchos are led by redshirt junior midfielder Lucas Gonzalez, who has a goal and an assist in each of UCSB's wins thus far. Gonzalez picked up an assist in last year's meeting between the two schools.
ABOUT CAL POLY
The Mustangs have struggled out of the gate, with an 0-3 mark against a tough schedule. All three teams Cal Poly has faced are either ranked in the United Soccer Coaches top 25 or are among the others receiving votes. The Mustangs are coached by Oige Kennedy, who is in his first season at Cal Poly. Kennedy is looking to improve on a 2-11-4 record in 2022.
UP NEXT
Utah Valley returns to Clyde Field for its final two games of the non-conference schedule. The Wolverines will face the Pacific Tigers on Sept. 16 in a match that is slated for a 7:30 p.m. MDT kickoff. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
