OREM — Graduate forward Faith Webber scored a school-record five goals to lead the Utah Valley women's soccer team to an 8-0 shutout win over in-state WAC foe Southern Utah on Senior Night at UCCU Stadium on Thursday night.
With the victory, Utah Valley improves to 10-4-2 overall and remains atop the WAC standings with a 6-0-1 record, clinching a berth in next month's WAC Tournament, which will be held Nov. 5-8 at UCCU Stadium.
Webber, already UVU's career goals leader, entered the night with 58 career goals and extended her total to 63 with her five-goal outburst. The performance ties her with Tennessee's Alivia Stott as the only players in the nation this season to score five goals in a match. Webber now has 15 goals on the year after setting the school's single-season record with 18 last season.
"Tonight was all about celebrating the six seniors," said Utah Valley head coach Chris Lemay. "They're obviously talented soccer players, but they're even better young women. I'm so proud of them and happy they could perform like that on their night."
Webber opened the scoring in the 13th minute when Greta Davis sent a left-footed cross into the box, allowing Webber to rise above the defense and head it into the back of the net. Just two minutes later, Marie Quentel and Sierra Pennock combined to set up Webber, who drilled a right-footed shot from the top of the box to the far post for her second goal. One minute after that, Pennock again found Webber in stride, and the graduate forward slipped past a defender and fired to the far post for her hat trick—three goals in a span of four minutes—to make it 3-0 in the 16th minute.
Bailey Peterson and Ruby Hladek connected to assist Webber on her fourth goal in the 20th minute, giving UVU a commanding 4-0 lead. Hladek then drew a foul in the box and converted the ensuing penalty kick in the 21st minute to make it 5-0.
After halftime, Hladek's shot off the post set up Sierra Pennock for a one-touch finish in the 60th minute. Webber then made history in the 71st minute as she received a pass from Quentel and fired a left-footed shot past the keeper for her fifth goal, breaking Sadie Brockbank's previous school record of four goals set in 2018. Sadie Beardall capped the scoring in the 76th minute after cleaning up a deflected cross from Malia Jessop to secure the 8-0 result.
"You might not believe it, but before the game I told our strength coach I felt like Faith was going to get five tonight," Lemay said. "I've never been concerned about her ability to score goals. She's just a special player, and she continues to prove it."
Despite the historic night, Webber deflected attention to her teammates and the senior class. "I wasn't even thinking about it," she said. "I didn't want tonight to be about me. I was just really stoked for Leah (Wolf) to get a shutout, for Ruby (Hladek) to score again, for Marie (Quentel) to get her first start, and for Taylor (Nelson) anchoring our defense. It's just such a great senior class."
Reflecting on her career, Webber said she hopes her legacy goes beyond goals and records. "When I came here, I just wanted to make an impact," she said. "Now that I have the career and single-game records, I hope my legacy goes beyond soccer—to inspire players to believe they can reach things they didn't think were possible."
Utah Valley will close out regular-season play on Monday night against in-state WAC rival Utah Tech at UCCU Stadium. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m. MT on ESPN+.
