Utah Valley continues its season-opening home stretch at America First Field on Sunday, where the Wolverines will play host to the Gonzaga Bulldogs in Kyle Beckerman's return to his old stomping grounds.
Kickoff is slated for 3 p.m. MDT, admission is free, and the first 200 fans will receive a Kyle Beckerman bobblehead. Fans can park for free in the North or West parking lots and enter through the Northwest or West gates. For more information on RSL's bag policy and where to park, click the links above.
The game is also part of a doubleheader with the Real Monarchs, who will be facing Minnesota United 2 at 7:30 p.m. MDT. Admission is free for that game as well.
LAST TIME OUT
Utah Valley rolled to a 4-0 win over the CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners on Thursday night in the team's inaugural match at UCCU Stadium. Noah Pogue christened the new stadium with the first goal in the 27th minute, and the Wolverines never looked back.
Nil Grau stole the show on his debut, scoring a goal and assisting on another all within the first half. Grau is the fifth player in program history to register both a goal and an assist in his first game as a Wolverine, joining Omar Yehya (2023), Alejandro Silva (2020), Austin Buxton (2014), and Matt Gay (2014).
Keegan Oyler and Sharif Sayawu each contributed a pair of assists, marking just the second time in program history that two Wolverines each had two assists in the same game, joining Jojea Kwizera and Diego Castillo who did it at Chicago State in 2021. Sayawu is also just the second UVU freshman to have two assists in their debut, joining Paul Hoffmeister (2014).
Utah Valley's six team assists were the third-most in the nation on a jam-packed opening night slate on Thursday, with all but nine Division I teams in action. The Wolverines four-goal margin of victory was also the third-best among teams facing D-I opposition.
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
Gonzaga's 2024 season was a tale of two halves, starting off 6-1 including a win over then-No. 9 Seattle U, but going winless over the final 11 games to finish 6-10-2. The Bulldogs opened the 2025 season with a 1-1 tie at Utah Tech on Thursday, out-shooting the Trailblazers 22-7 while playing the final 61 minutes up a man following a 29th minute red card.
The Bulldogs' leading offensive returners from last season are Drew Pederson (4G/3A) and Alex Bazia (3G/2A). Bazia scored the lone Gonzaga goal from the penalty spot on Thursday in St. George. The Bulldogs also return starting keeper Chema Preciado, who played all but four minutes in goal in 2024 and registered 78 saves across 18 games.
HISTORY VS GONZAGA
Utah Valley and Gonzaga have had some memorable moments on the pitch together, none more so than a top-20 showdown at Clyde Field in 2016, with the Wolverines pulling out a 1-0 victory. Utah Valley leads the all-time series 3-1, including a 2-0 mark at home.
12TH WOLVERINES DRIVE UVU TO VICTORY
1,395 supporters came out for Utah Valley's home opener on Thursday, the 15th-best crowd in D-I men's soccer on opening night, and the third-best west of the Mississippi, behind only Saint Louis' 2,018 and UC Irvine's 1,734. UVU has ranked among the top 30 nationally in attendance every season at full capacity, and ranked 8th in the nation last season in percent capacity during the construction of UCCU Stadium.
UP NEXT
Utah Valley will close out the three-game season-opening homestand with a visit from the FGCU Eagles on Thursday. Kickoff is slated for 5 p.m. MDT as the match is part of a doubleheader with women's soccer, and tickets will be good for both games. To purchase those tickets, head to GoUVU.com/MSOCtix.
