Utah Valley returns to UCCU Stadium on Saturday for the team’s final home game of the regular season, hosting the No. 21 Oregon State Beavers in a Pac-12 crossover game on Senior Night.
Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. MDT, with the senior ceremony beginning at 5:45. Tickets can be purchased at GoUVU.com/GetTix. Saturday's match will be a showdown between the two first-place teams in The Big West and the Pac-12.
GAME DAY INFO
MATCHUP: Utah Valley (8-2-3, 4-1 BW) vs No. 21 Oregon State (8-3-4, 3-1-1 Pac-12)
KICKOFF: 6 p.m. MDT
GATES OPEN: 5 p.m. MDT
TICKETS: GoUVU.com/GetTix
LIVE STREAMS: ESPN+ / Big West International
LIVE STATS: GoUVU.com/stats
UTAH VALLEY GAME NOTES
LAST TIME OUT
Utah Valley earned a 2-2 road draw with the San Diego State Aztecs on Wednesday. The Wolverines rallied back from 1-0 and 2-1 deficits, scoring both goals on penalties by Adem Arous and Jose Montealegre.
Utah Valley welcomes in one of the most potent offenses in the country, which just put eight past Sacramento State on Wednesday in Corvallis. The Beavers average 2.60 goals/game — the eighth-best rate in the country — and are led by senior forward Wyatt Borso, who ranks second in the country with 13 goals this season.
Oregon State was ranked 13th last week by the NCAA selection committee’s top 16 rankings. The top 16 teams earn byes to the second round of the NCAA Tournament and would host those games.
OSU is the first ranked team to come to Orem since No. 22 UC Santa Barbara in 2024. UVU is 4-8-2 all-time vs ranked teams at home, with losses in each of the last six and going winless in the last eight. Saturday’s game will be a prime resumé-building opportunity late in the season for Utah Valley, who are 49th in the RPI following Wednesday’s games. In the last few seasons, the lowest RPI ranking to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament was in the mid-30s.
UVU is hoping to make it back-to-back wins over a ranked team on Saturday after beating No. 20 Marshall earlier this year. The Wolverines haven't won back-to-back games versus ranked opponents since 2016-17 against Gonzaga and Akron. The team has only ever had multiple ranked wins in a season once before, in 2016 vs Washington and Gonzaga.
Utah Valley is guaranteed at least one more home game this season. With last week’s win over CSUN, the Wolverines clinched a top-two seed in the Big West Championships, and will host the semifinals on Nov. 7.
WHOLE SQUAD GETTING INVOLVED
Entering Saturday, 19 different Wolverines have secured a goal contribution, one off the team record of 20 set in 2019. Additionally, every single one of the team's goals this season — including the own goal at Marshall, which was set up by Luca Wingaa Laursen — have been scored or assisted by an international player.
TED LASSO S1E10, 06:14
While Utah Valley controls its own destiny in securing the league title, a tie by UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara on Saturday would guarantee the Wolverines at least a share of the conference crown. A win by either team would mean UVU would need a win in the final game at CSUB to guarantee the title.
SERIES HISTORY VS OREGON STATE
The Beavers hold a 2-0-1 lead in the all-time series. Oregon State is just one of two teams the Wolverines have played three or more times and failed to beat at least once (UC Santa Barbara). UVU picked up its highest-ever result versus a ranked team against the Beavers in 2022, drawing with then-No. 5 OSU in Corvallis.
UP NEXT
Utah Valley will look to lock up the No. 1 seed in The Big West Championships and secure the outright conference title next Saturday when the Wolverines travel to Cal State Bakersfield for the regular season finale. Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. MDT, and the game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
