OREM, Utah — Jose Luis Martin Montealegre scored his sixth goal of the season and the Wolverine defense kept its sixth clean sheet of the season, shutting down one of the nation's best offenses as Utah Valley (9-2-3) topped the No. 21 Oregon State Beavers (8-4-4), 1-0 on Senior Night.
The Beavers came into Saturday the eighth-best scoring offense in the nation, averaging 2.60 goals per game, but were able to muster up just two shots on frame and seven overall. The Wolverines have not allowed a goal at home in over five games, dating back to the game against Omaha on Sept. 4, and have allowed just one goal at home in the run of play all season.
The win is Utah Valley's first against a ranked opponent at home since 2017 against No. 13 Akron, which was also the last time the Wolverines won back-to-back games against a top 25 foe. Utah Valley topped No. 20 Marshall on the road back on Sept. 11.
"Excellent team performance. We started off a little slow but we made some adjustments at halftime and the boys executed them to a T," said head coach Michael Chesler. "Oregon State's an incredible squad that really gave us a test, and it was really awesome to get a result against them."
Utah Valley settled into an offensive rhythm quickly, getting some good chances in the early moments, but were unable to convert. Nil Grau had a header on a corner kick go high, then Trevor Walk had a goal-bound effort blocked.
The Beavers challenged for a penalty in the 10th minute, but the replay review determined the play was offside.
OSU had arguably its best chance of the night in the 25th minute when Wyatt Borso's shot struck the left post and was cleared. Borso came into Saturday second in the nation in goals with 13, but was held to just two shots all night.
Jackson Medina played sweeper keeper in the 39th minute, coming well off his line to win back-to-back challenges and shut down the Beavers on the counter.
Following the break, UVU had a chance to break the deadlock in the 58th minute as Naime Odeh got through on goal, but his shot one-on-one with the keeper was saved. Walk had another shot in the 63rd minute, but his long-range effort was saved.
The Wolverines' goal came after an extended run of OSU possession. In the 84th minute, Nil Grau and Luca Wingaa Laursen connected for a give-and-go along the far sideline, allowing Grau to break free down the right wing. Grau sent a perfectly-weighted driven ball across the face of goal for Montealegre, who tapped it in just inside the near post.
Following the goal, OSU recorded just one blocked shot over the final six-plus minutes, while the Wolverines had a couple of chances for a second, but opted to play it safe.
With UC Irvine's win over UC Santa Barbara, the Wolverines now know they will need at least a draw to secure The Big West title next Saturday at Cal State Bakersfield. The Anteaters — who closed out conference play with a 1-0 win over the Gauchos — now sit one point ahead of Utah Valley at 13 points while the rest of the conference still has one league game remaining. A draw at CSUB would give both teams a share of the title, but would give the Wolverines the No. 1 seed on head-to-head tiebreaker. A win gives Utah Valley the title outright.
Kickoff in Saturday's regular season finale is scheduled for 8 p.m. MDT. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ and Big West International.
