OREM—Utah scored a pair of second-half goals after Utah Valley was forced to play down a player, handing the Wolverines a 2-0 setback on Monday night at UCCU Stadium.
With the loss, Utah Valley falls to 0-1-1 on the season, while Utah improves to 1-0-1.
Utah Valley goalkeeper Madeleine Boucher came out of the box in the 43rd minute in an attempt to deny a Utah scoring opportunity and collided with a Ute attacker. Boucher was shown a red card, forcing the Wolverines to play the remainder of the match with 10 players.
"I think that unfortunately, we were undisciplined tonight," Utah Valley head coach Chris Lemay said. "It wasn't just the play that obviously put us a player down. There were moments throughout the game that we were careless with our decisions, and therefore we found ourselves on the wrong end of the scoreline this evening."
Utah broke through in the 63rd minute. Shannon Davidson received the ball just outside the top of the box before playing it to Julia Oka on the left side. Oka immediately sent a cross toward the right side of the goal, where a sliding Reese Clem redirected it into the back of the net to give the Utes a 1-0 advantage.
The Utes added an insurance goal in the 82nd minute. Utah Valley's goalkeeper came out of the box in an attempt to stop a Utah attacker, but a Utah player punched the ball to Katie Callaway, who settled it and fired into an empty net to extend Utah's lead to 2-0.
Sam Curtis led Utah Valley with three shots, including two on goal, while Kate Booth also recorded three shots with one on frame. Boucher and Emily Bergero each finished with three saves for the Wolverines.
"We need to be better, and we will start tomorrow trying to gear up for a very good Utah State team coming up this upcoming Monday," Lemay said.
Utah Valley continues its season-opening four-match homestand on Monday, Aug. 24, against Utah State at UCCU Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. The match will be streamed live on ESPN+.
