Utah Valley opens the 2024 regular season with a two-game road trip to Northern California to take on Big West foes Sacramento State and UC Davis.
The Wolverines begin the 2024 campaign at Sacramento State on Thursday with a 6 p.m. MT kickoff at Hornet Field. UVU will then make the short trip west to take on the Aggies at 2 p.m. MT on Sunday. Both games will be streamed live on ESPN+, with live stats available at UVUStats.com.
Utah Valley will look to extend its impressive season opener unbeaten streak to 11 games. In the program's 10-season history, the Wolverines are an impressive 9-0-1 in season openers, outscoring opponents 24-4 in those games. Only two of those games came on the road, however, including the lone tie at Canisius in 2021.
The Wolverines return five starters from the 2023 team, including second team All-WAC honoree Omar Yehya, WAC All-Freshman team member Trevor Walk, and preseason All-WAC honoree Tom Dobek-Pietrowski. Yehya is the leading returning goal scorer and Dobek-Pietrowski is the leading returner in minutes played. In total, there are 16 returners from last year's squad.
The team brings in a plethora of new faces, with eight freshmen and nine transfers joining the squad. Among those transfers are a pair of NJCAA All-Americans in goalkeeper Ben Williams and midfielder Manuel Cordeiro. Williams was a two-time JUCO All-American at Salt Lake CC, leading the Bruins to two NJCAA Final Four berths with an impressive 0.62 goals-against average. Cordeiro spent the last two seasons at Monroe College, who were JUCO national champions both years. Cordeiro was named first team All-American following the 2023 season.
Among the eight incoming freshmen, three have had experience with an MLS academy or the MLS Next circuit. Owen Pereira and David Noguera both played in MLS Next with Lou Fusz and RSL Academy respectively, with Tyson Carter playing for both RSL Academy and Real Monarchs of the USL Championship.
SERIES HISTORY VS SAC STATE
The Hornets have won each of the previous two meetings against the Wolverines. The two teams played a home-and-home series across the 2016 and 2017 seasons. Sac State won the first meeting 3-2 in Sacramento, then came to Clyde Field the following season and took a 3-1 decision.
SERIES HISTORY VS UC DAVIS
The road team has won both games in the all-time series between the schools. UVU won the first meeting, 1-0 in Davis in 2016. The Aggies won the return trip to Orem, 1-0 in 2018.
THE WILD, WILD (BIG) WEST
In 2024, Utah Valley will play five teams out of the Big West Conference, including these two matches against Sacramento State and UC Davis. UVU will host UC San Diego, Cal Poly, and UC Santa Barbara at Clyde Field later this season. Teams out of the Big West are historically the most common non-conference opponent for the Wolverines, with a total of 20 games over the previous 10 seasons. UVU holds a 10-9-1 record in those games.
EMOJONG RETURNS TO HIS HOMETOWN
Freshman midfielder Isaac Emojong will feel right at home for his first two collegiate games. Emojong is from Davis, Calif., and played much of his club soccer with Sacramento Republic FC and Sacramento United.
DOBEK-PIETROWSKI NAMED PRESEASON ALL-WAC
Graduate defender Tom Dobek-Pietrowski was named to the All-WAC preseason team. In 2023, Dobek-Pietrowski played all but 77 possible minutes, the most on the team. Dobek-Pietrowski was named the WAC Defensive Player of the Week the final week of the regular season, and picked up a brace in the WAC Tournament Quarterfinals. UVU has had a preseason All-WAC honoree three years in a row, one of four schools in the league to achieve that feat.
UP NEXT
Utah Valley returns home for the home opener on Thursday, Aug. 29, against a third Big West foe in UC San Diego. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. MT, and the game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
