Utah Valley returns home on Thursday to host the Omaha Mavericks in the team’s final home non-conference game before Big West play opens at the end of the month.
Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. MDT, and the game will be streamed live on ESPN+ with Brice Larson and Amber Tripp on the call. Tickets can be purchased at GoUVU.com/GetTix.
GAME DAY INFO
MATCHUP: Utah Valley (3-0-0, 0-0 BW) vs Omaha (2-0-1, 0-0 Summit)
KICKOFF: 7 p.m. MDT
GATES OPEN: 6 p.m. MDT
LIVE STREAM: ESPN+
LAST TIME OUT
Utah Valley improved to 3-0 on the young season with a 1-0 road win over the Santa Clara Broncos on Sunday night. It’s the second season in a row the Wolverines have started the season 3-0, and is the eighth time in the last nine seasons the team is unbeaten through three games.
As of Tuesday, UVU is one of 21 teams nationally that still have a perfect record this season. The Wolverines are also one of four teams to go back-to-back seasons with a perfect record through August (Others: Brown, Cornell, and Stanford).
Nil Grau scored for the second straight game, chipping the keeper in the third minute from a tough angle for the first and only goal of the match. Entering the week, Grau is tied for the national lead in game-winning goals with two after scoring in last Monday’s 1-0 win over Central Arkansas. At least one of UVU's top returning point scorers from 2025 — Grau, Noah Pogue, and Jose Luis Martin Montealegre — have contributed on each of the team's goals this season.
Owen Knecht has shown little sign of post-mission rust, registering a team-high-tying two assists so far this season. Knecht had the primary assist on the team's game-winning goals vs Pacific and Santa Clara. Adem Arous has been dangerous off the bench, averaging 1.67 SOG/game. Arous leads The Big West and is 16th nationally in shot accuracy at .833 (83% of shots are on goal).
Utah Valley's defensive prowess has been on full display so far this season, allowing just three SOG over the first three games. UVU leads The Big West and ranks 12th nationally in team goals-against average at 0.33.
With Sunday's win, Utah Valley improved to 20-1-3 all-time in August. The lone loss was vs #23 Western Michigan at America First Field in 2023. The draws came at Canisius in 2021, at No. 5 Oregon State in 2022, and at UC Davis in 2024.
SERIES HISTORY VS OMAHA
Utah Valley and Omaha played last season in Nebraska, with UVU winning its first game in the series, 3-0. The Mavs leads the series, 2-1, including a 3-1 win in Orem back in 2017. UVU scored three second-half goals in last season's win, from Isaac Emojong, Gilles Aurelien, and Lewis Knecht (PK). The win was UVU's fourth of six straight shutouts to start the season. The team eventually went 607 total minutes without allowing a goal.
SCOUTING THE MAVERICKS
The Mavs have posted a pair of four-goal wins against Eastern Illinois (4-2) and Bradley (4-0) sandwiched around a scoreless draw with perennial top-25 program Florida International, all at home. Bradley transfer Amari Fowlkes has been the team’s top scoring threat with two goals and an assist through three games.
UP NEXT
The Wolverines will have their toughest test of the non-conference slate when they make their first-ever trip to West Virginia to face the No. 15 Marshall Thundering Herd. Kickoff is slated for 5:15 p.m. MDT, and the game will be streamed on ESPN+.
