OREM, Utah — Isaac Emojong scored in the sixth minute and Nil Grau converted a 77th-minute spot kick to give Utah Valley (7-1-1, 1-1 WAC) a 2-1 win over the Air Force Falcons (1-8-2, 0-2 WAC) on Thursday night at UCCU Stadium.
The two teams waited nearly two and a half hours through a lightning delay that stopped play at the 21:46 mark. Play finally resumed nearly three hours after kickoff at 8:50.
The Wolverines honored their 11 graduating players — Ben Williams, Jaret Rocha, Abdou Samb, Gilles Aurelien, Jacob Vincent, Keegan Oyler, Keith Willey, Noah Pogue, Elijah Gozo, Deontae Ben, and Alex Fritcher — with a ceremony postgame.
Utah Valley got on the board quickly in the 6th minute after knifing through the middle of the Air Force defense. Aurelien fed a square ball to Jose Luis Martin Montealegre, whose pass deflected off Grau and settled for Emojong, who struck it with his first touch into the top-right corner.
Grau had two shots in quick succession in the 8th and 9th minutes, but the first was saved at the near post and the latter was blocked before it could reach the net.
After the weather delay, the Wolverines came out hot with shots by Martin Montealegre and Grau being saved, but nothing to show for it.
The Falcons got momentum on their side and carried it into an equalizer in the 34th minute. Oliver Becker's shot from the top of the box took a wicked deflection and shot the opposite way Kolby Sessions was diving.
Emojong and Pogue almost broke the deadlock in the 64th minute, with Emojong's shot being saved and Pogue's going just high.
Grau earned a penalty kick in the 77th minute after a scramble in the box resulted in the Spaniard being chopped down by the Air Force keeper. Grau then converted the spot kick.
Gozo had two chances within the final two minutes, but narrowly missed on each. Gozo's first shot was saved in the 89th minute, then his chip of the keeper with less than 10 seconds to go sailed inches over the crossbar.
Utah Valley will have a quick turnaround, hosting the San José State Spartans on Saturday night. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. MDT, and tickets can be purchased at GoUVU.com/MSOCtix.
