No. 22 Utah Valley takes its unbeaten record and newly-minted national ranking on the road to St. George, Utah for the sixth playing of the Old Hammer Rivalry against Utah Tech on Monday night at Greater Zion Stadium.
Kickoff in the derby is scheduled for 7 p.m. MDT, and the game will be streamed live on Mountain West+. Live stats will be available at utahtechtrailblazers.com.
GAME DAY INFO
MATCHUP: No. 22 Utah Valley (4-0-1, 0-0 BW) at Utah Tech (1-6, 0-0 MW)
KICKOFF: 7 p.m. MDT
LIVE STREAM: Mountain West+
LIVE STATS: utahtechtrailblazers.com
UTAH VALLEY GAME NOTES
LAST TIME OUT
The Wolverines made program history just over a week ago, taking down No. 20/12 Marshall, 2-1 on Sept. 11 for the team’s first-ever ranked road win over a United Soccer Coaches Top 25 team.
Adem Arous scored his first NCAA goal in the 11th minute off of assists from Jose Luis Martin Montealegre and Naime Odeh before the Thundering Herd equalized in the 24th minute. The Wolverines jumped in front for good just seconds after halftime when Landon Christiansen’s shot deflected off of a Marshall defender and in at the 45:20 mark.
The loss was Marshall’s first at home during the regular season in 1,056 days, since Oct. 22, 2023 against conference rival Kentucky. It was also Marshall’s first home regular season loss to a non-conference foe since 2019 against UVU’s former WAC rival UTRGV.
Luca Wingaa Laursen was named The Big West's Rookie of the Week. The Kastrup, Denmark native set up the game-winning goal at Marshall, winning a duel then beating a pair of defenders to the end line before sending in the cross that eventually led to the own goal.
Entering the weekend, Utah Valley is one of 20 teams in the country who have yet to lose a game, and one of 12 of those teams with one or fewer draws on the season. The Wolverines’ 0.900 win percentage is tied for 10th-best nationally. Since the start of the 2024 season, Utah Valley is 8-2-4 in true road games, with both losses coming at Grand Canyon.
SCOUTING THE TRAILBLAZERS
Last season’s upstart team in the WAC has yet to find the same form they ended the regular season with, holding a 1-6 record entering Monday’s match. The Trailblazers have a 1-0 win over Sac State on Aug. 31, but have scored just three goals over the other six matches, with two of those goals coming against Pacific in the second game of the season. Zach Taylor is the team’s leading offensive threat with one goal and one assist on the season.
A PROPER DERBY
The previous five meetings between the Wolverines and Trailblazers have been fitting of a rivalry game, with each match being decided by one or fewer goals. Four of the previous five have also seen the team who scored first rally back to secure a win or a draw. Utah Valley leads the series 3-1-1, but has just one win in three previous meetings at Greater Zion Stadium.
The last three meetings especially have seen some late-game theatrics. In 2025, Utah Tech rallied back from a 2-0 deficit to tie 2-2, falling short of the win needed to secure the WAC regular season title. In 2024, Utah Valley scored with just 19 seconds left for the team’s latest regulation game-winner to steal a 2-1 victory in Orem. In 2023, the Trailblazers scored twice in the final 18 minutes to claim their lone win in the series, 2-1.
FIRST TIME IN A LONG TIME
With this week's United Soccer Coaches rankings, it is the first time since 2019 that multiple Big West teams are ranked in the same poll. That year, UC Santa Barbara and UC Davis both made the NCAA Tournament. Since The Big West resumed sponsoring men's soccer in 2002, the league has sent multiple teams to the NCAA Tourney 13 times, including 3 teams in 2013 and 2015, and 4 teams in 2008.
AND THEN THERE WAS ONE
For the third season in a row, Utah Valley holds the last remaining unbeaten record in its conference. In 2025, the Wolverines started the season 6-0-1 and were the second to last team in the country to hold a perfect record behind Delaware. In 2024, the team started the 5-0-2. 7 games is the team's longest unbeaten streak to start a season.
UP NEXT
Utah Valley will host its first-ever Big West game on Sept. 30 when the Wolverines face off with the UC Irvine Anteaters. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. MDT, and tickets can be purchased at GoUVU.com/GetTix.
