SEATTLE —
Faith Webber recorded a brace with two goals to lead Utah Valley to a 3-3 tie on the road against Seattle U in rainy conditions on Saturday night at Championship Field, securing the Wolverines the outright WAC regular-season title.
Utah Valley wraps up regular-season play with a 12-4-2 overall record and finishes atop the WAC standings with an unbeaten 6-0-1 record, extending its unbeaten streak to 10 games and its WAC regular-season unbeaten streak to 22 games.
"Seattle U is a strong, well-organized team with a solid game plan, so I couldn't be prouder of our group tonight and how they responded," head coach
Chris Lemay said. "To come back on the road in tough conditions, battling back three times with resilience and grit, shows the character of this team. We managed the game well in the final minutes, knowing the tie would clinch us the outright championship. Having the nation's top scorer show up with two more tonight was huge for us. Now, we'll carry this momentum into the WAC Tournament and prepare for what's next."
The Wolverines had already secured at least a share of the WAC regular-season title on Monday night with their win over Grand Canyon but now claim the outright WAC championship with an unbeaten 6-0-1 mark this season.
Seattle U struck first, taking a 1-0 lead in the fourth minute as Hallie Bergford found the back of the net. Utah Valley answered back in the seventh minute when Webber stole the ball from a Seattle U defender and fired it into the goal to tie the game, 1-1. With the goal, Webber broke her own UVU single-season goals record, now with 17 goals, surpassing the record of 16 she set last season.
The Redhawks regained the lead in the 13th minute with a goal by Kait Raffensperger. Utah Valley responded again in the 18th minute when
Kate Shirts sent a corner kick from the left side, which
Haley Funn headed into the back of the net to even the score at 2-2.
Seattle U's U'i Kaaihue scored in the 29th minute, sending the Redhawks into halftime with a 3-2 lead.
In the second half,
Cortney Cobabe played a ball from midfield to Webber, who made a skillful touch to beat a defender before racing down the field and firing a shot with her left foot into the net, tying the game at 3-3. The goal extended Webber's single season UVU goals record to 18. With 18 goals, Webber also leads the nation in goals this season.
Utah Valley will now prepare for the WAC Tournament, set for Nov. 3-9 in Abilene, Texas. As the No. 1 seed, UVU has earned a bye to the semifinals and will play on Wednesday, Nov. 6, at 3 p.m. MT against the winner of the quarterfinal game between the No. 5 and No. 4 seeds. The tournament will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
