IRVINE, Calif.—Sadie Beardall recorded her second brace in the last three matches to lead Utah Valley to a 3-1 road victory over UC Irvine on Wednesday night at Anteater Stadium.
Utah Valley improves to 6-4-2 overall and remains unbeaten in Big West play at 2-0-1. UC Irvine falls to 3-4-3 overall and 1-1-1 in conference action.
"Overall, I thought we played well," Utah Valley head coach Chris Lemay said. "I thought we possessed in the right moments. I thought we played on our front foot and created a number of chances. We're happy to score three. Obviously, wins on the road in this conference are going to be crucial, and being able to come away from the trip with four points, obviously, we came for six, but we'll take four."
The Wolverines struck first in the 32nd minute. Tylie Miller sent a throw-in forward to Addie Olson, who played the ball through midfield to Nixan Jackson on the right side. Jackson settled it and fired in a shot to give Utah Valley a 1-0 lead. Jackson's goal was her fourth of the season.
UC Irvine found the equalizer in the 50th minute. After a blocked shot in the box, Fiona Shin collected the rebound and fired a shot that glanced off the glove of Madeleine Boucher and into the net to even the match at 1-1.
Utah Valley quickly regained the lead five minutes later. Josie Clawson played the ball out wide to Jackson, who raced toward the edge of the box before sending a cross into the area. The ball struck the hand of a UC Irvine defender, resulting in a penalty kick for the Wolverines. Beardall stepped to the spot and converted the penalty to give UVU a 2-1 advantage in the 55th minute.
Beardall added her second goal of the night in the 75th minute. Isabella Stewart created space before finding Beardall in the middle of the box. Beardall turned past the defense and buried a left-footed shot to extend Utah Valley's lead to 3-1. The brace pushed Beardall's season total to six goals.
Beardall has now scored five goals through Utah Valley's first three Big West matches, while Jackson has three goals and two assists over the same stretch.
Utah Valley finished the match with a 17-9 advantage in shots, including an 11-3 edge in shots on goal. The Wolverines placed nine shots in the first half and eight in the second.
Beardall and Jackson led Utah Valley with four shots apiece, with all four of Beardall's attempts coming on frame. Josie Clawson added two shots on goal, while Elle Young, Quinn Rustand, Isabella Stewart and Kate Booth each put a shot on frame.
Boucher played all 90 minutes in goal for Utah Valley and recorded one save. The Wolverines also registered one team save.
Utah Valley now returns home to UCCU Stadium to host Cal State Fullerton on Saturday night at 6 p.m. MT.
