ABILENE, Texas—The Utah Valley women's soccer team secured its fourth straight Western Athletic Conference regular season championship with a 4-1 road win over Abilene Christian on Thursday night at Elmer Gray Stadium.
With the victory, Utah Valley improves to 12-4-2 overall and 8-0-1 in WAC play, extending its conference regular season unbeaten streak to 31 matches. The Wolverines' 25 points atop the WAC standings make them mathematically unreachable with one match remaining. California Baptist sits second with 19 points.
"This group has done an extraordinary job carrying the pressure of being the reigning champs," said Utah Valley head coach Chris Lemay. "Winning a championship is difficult—but doing it four times in a row is rare. They've been incredibly consistent, and I think we're playing some of our best soccer of the year right now. It's a great time to be in form."
Utah Valley has dominated WAC competition this season, outscoring league opponents 40-7 while remaining unbeaten in nine matches.
Ruby Hladek opened the scoring early, capitalizing on a free kick from just outside the box in the sixth minute. The senior forward curved the ball around the ACU defensive wall and inside the near post for her 14th goal of the season to give the Wolverines a 1-0 lead.
In the 27th minute, Josie Shepherd sent a ball forward from midfield to Mia Owens, who pushed the attack and found Faith Webber in stride. Webber battled through a defender and slotted the shot past the Wildcat keeper to make it 2-0. The goal marked Webber's 17th of the season, just two shy of breaking her own single-season record of 18 set last year.
The Wolverines extended their advantage to 3-0 in the 53rd minute when Nixan Jackson worked her way to the end line and cut a pass back to the top of the box. Freshman Tylie Miller one-timed a strike to the far post for her first career goal.
Abilene Christian got on the board in the 55th minute as Peyton Hill scored to cut the deficit to 3-1, but Utah Valley answered late when Sadie Beardall delivered a cross from the left side that found Lulie MacFarlane, who redirected it into the net in the 78th minute for the 4-1 final.
Utah Valley outshot Abilene Christian 27-5 and held a 16-4 advantage in shots on goal. Webber led all players with 10 shots (six on target), while Hladek and Jackson each tallied three. Leah Wolf made three saves in goal as UVU owned a 9-2 edge in corner kicks.
The victory also marked a personal milestone for Lemay, who earned his 100th career win as a head coach—all at Utah Valley.
"I credit the players for the wins," Lemay said. "I didn't win any of these games on my own. I've had great people beside me—coaches, staff, and players who believed in what we were building. I'm very thankful for everyone who's been part of this journey."
With the WAC regular season title and No. 1 seed for the upcoming WAC Tournament already secured, Utah Valley will close out the regular season on Sunday at Tarleton State in Stephenville, Texas. The Wolverines will then return home to host the 2025 WAC Tournament at UCCU Stadium. UVU opens play in the semifinals on Wednesday, Nov. 5, at 6 p.m. MT against the No. 4 seed.
