Utah Valley closes out the regular season on Friday in St. George, facing off with Utah Tech in the fifth playing of the Old Hammer Rivalry.

Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. MDT, and the game will be streamed live on ESPN+, with live stats available at UtahTechTrailblazers.com. 

Friday's game will be the highest-stakes meeting in the short series history between the two programs. The Trailblazers need a win to claim at least a share of the WAC regular season title, while the Wolverines need a win to clinch a spot in the WAC Tournament.

LAST TIME OUT
Utah Valley closed out the home season with a 1-0 defeat to the San Diego State Aztecs on Monday, marking the first time the team had been shut out this season and the first time at home in over a year. The Wolverines held a 16-7 advantage in shots and 5-3 in shots on goal, but couldn't find the back of the net.

Despite the shutout, Utah Valley's offense continues to lead the WAC and rank among the best in the nation. The Wolverines rank 13th in the nation in scoring offense at 2.23 goals/game, and 19th in assists/game at 2.23, both of which lead the league.

Nil Grau and Isaac Emojong each scored their fifth goals of the season against UNLV last Thursday. They became the first Wolverine duo since Aaron Nixon and Jojea Kwizera in fall 2021 to each have at least five goals in the same season. Grau will miss Friday's game due to yellow card accumulation.

SERIES HISTORY VS UTAH TECH
The newest addition to the Old Hammer Rivalry slate, Utah Valley and Utah Tech meet for the fifth time on Friday. UVU leads the series 3-1, with all four games being decided by one goal. 

Utah Valley defeated Utah Tech last season at home with the latest regulation match winner in program history. The Wolverines scored at the 89:41 mark to take a 2-1 victory in Orem. Utah Tech won the last meeting in St. George back in 2023, with the Trailblazers scoring two second-half goals to come away with a 2-1 win.

SCOUTING THE TRAILBLAZERS
For Utah Tech, it's been a tale of two seasons. After a disappointing 1-5-3 non-conference, the Blazers have been the best team in the WAC at 3-1-2, entering the final match day atop the table and needing a win to claim the team's first league title at the D-I level. Tech is led by WAC POTY contender Taylor Rogers, who leads the team in both goals and assists (6G/5A).

A PROPER DERBY
In the short four-game series, the Old Hammer Rivalry has seen three late come-from-behind victories — two by the Wolverines and one by the Trailblazers. In the first meeting back in 2021, UVU scored twice in the final 18 minutes with a brace from Evans Armah to win 2-1. In 2023, Tech also scored twice in the last 18 minutes to take a 2-1 victory. The most recent meeting in 2024 saw the Wolverines score with 19 seconds left to top the Trailblazers 2-1 with the latest match-winner in program history.

DECISION DAY DRAMA
In each of the last three seasons, Utah Valley has come into the final game of the regular season with its postseason fate hanging in the balance, and has gotten the result it needed. In 2022, the Wolverines scored twice in the final 15 minutes to down CBU and clinch a spot in the WAC Tournament. In 2023, Utah Valley battled to a 2-2 draw with GCU to qualify and also eliminate the Lopes in the process. Last season, the Wolverines secured a 1-0 win at CBU via a 1st-minute goal from Omar Yehya to make the tournament.

ABOUT THE OLD HAMMER RIVALRY
With Utah Tech joining the WAC at the start of the 2020-21 athletic year, this brought the renewal of a dormant rivalry that dates back to the 1970s when UVU and Utah Tech were both junior colleges. Utah Tech and Utah Valley competed in Region 18 and the Scenic West Athletic Conference for over 30 years, from 1972-2003. Prior to the two schools' first meeting as WAC opponents in the 2020-21 basketball season, UVU and Utah Tech announced the renewed and rebranded "Old Hammer Rivalry," which is contested in 13 sports. Men's soccer is the newest addition to the rivalry slate, as Utah Valley added men's soccer in 2014.

WOLVERINES AMONG BEST IN ATTENDANCE
Following the final home game on Oct. 27, Utah Valley ranked 24th in the nation in average attendance at 1,275. That mark is the best in the WAC and the 5th-best among teams west of the Rockies. The only West Coast teams with better numbers are UC Santa Barbara, Cal Poly, Washington, and Portland.

UP NEXT
With a win on Friday, the Wolverines will have just over a week off to prepare for the opening round of the WAC Tournament, set to begin on Nov. 9 in Riverside, Calif., on the campus of California Baptist.