HONOLULU—Utah Valley scored early and often in a 4-0 shutout win over former WAC foe New Mexico State on Sunday afternoon, wrapping up play at the OUTRIGGER No Ka Oi with a perfect 2-0 record at the University of Hawai'i Lower Campus.
The Wolverines won their third straight match to improve to 3-2-1 overall on the season, while New Mexico State fell to 1-6-0.
Nixan Jackson put Utah Valley on the scoreboard in the eighth minute. Ashley Garcia played the ball ahead to Jackson, who outran the NM State defense before firing a left-footed shot from 25 yards out into the upper-right corner, just beyond the reach of the Aggie goalkeeper, to give the Wolverines a 1-0 lead.
Utah Valley doubled its advantage in the 33rd minute. Josie Clawson sent a corner kick into the box that was headed over to Sam Curtis. Curtis settled the ball and played it to Kate Shirts, who fired a shot into the back of the net to give the Wolverines a 2-0 lead heading into halftime.
The Wolverines added two more goals in the final 12 minutes.
Isabella Stewart sent a ball from the right side of the field into the box in the 79th minute, where Garcia one-touched it past the NM State goalkeeper and into the net to extend Utah Valley's lead to 3-0.
Utah Valley capped the scoring in the 84th minute. Sadie Beardall played the ball to Brynlee Austin, who took a touch before slotting a pass toward goal to Clawson. Clawson finished the opportunity to give the Wolverines a 4-0 advantage.
Utah Valley outshot New Mexico State 21-5 on the afternoon, including a 7-2 advantage in shots on goal. The Wolverines also held a 13-3 advantage in corner kicks. Clawson led all players with a match-high eight shots, while five other Wolverines recorded two shots apiece.
Madeleine Boucher made two saves in goal to record her second consecutive clean sheet. The Wolverines did not concede a goal during their two matches in Hawai'i after also shutting out Washington State, 1-0, on Thursday.
"It was good to see multiple goal scorers today and different people getting involved in our attacking third and creating and finishing opportunities," Utah Valley head coach Chris Lemay said. "The whole purpose of our trip was to provide an experience for the players, but also to come out and get a couple of results, and we feel like we achieved everything."
Utah Valley now returns to the mainland to host San Diego State on Saturday night at UCCU Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
