Men’s Soccer snaps four-game skid in 3-0 win against Houston Christian

The Utah Valley University men’s soccer team pitched a 3-0 shutout against the Houston Christian University Huskies on Thursday, at home on Clyde Field.  

With their first Western Athletic Conference win, the Wolverines snapped a four-game losing streak, moving to 3-5-1 on the season, 1-2 in conference play, and 2-0 at home. The Wolverines currently sit at eight in the WAC standings. 

Owen Knecht led the way for the Wolverines with two goals while Easton Embley scored the other goal to propel the Wolverines past the Huskies.

The Wolverines outshot the Huskies 21 to eight in shots and 13 to two in shots on goal. UVU also had 11 corners compared to HCU’s’ three. Huskies’ goalkeeper Alex Aitken racked up 10 saves for HCU despite surrendering three goals while Wolverine goalkeeper Landon Carter had one save. The Wolverines had five team assists, including two from Alejandro Silva.

UVU started the game aggressively, firing four shots in the first seven minutes, including direct shots on goal by Mark Andros and Ben Ortiz that were saved by Aitken.

Fortunately for the Wolverines, Knecht, assisted by Andros and Silva, drove goal number one into the net in the 19th minute to put UVU up 1-0 early. Knecht tried to lodge in another goal a few minutes later but missed. 

Embley had a great look for the Wolverines in the 35th minute, trying to drive the ball up the middle of the post but Aiken made the stop. Ura Miura gave another good attempt for UVU in the 40th minute with a shot toward the top of the goal but Aitken yet again made another save.

The Huskies closed out the half with shots by Bangelee Sesay and Luis Poblacion in the 41st and 42nd minutes, respectively, but both attempts missed. The Wolverines held the Huskies to three total shots in the half.

The Wolverines continued their aggression to start the second half, firing six shots in the first nine minutes of the half, including three shots on goal that were saved by Aitken. 

HCU defender Aldo Tarantini almost scored for the Huskies in the 56th minute with a shot toward the bottom left of the post but the Wolverines were able to save the attempt. Embley, assisted by Silva, promptly responded with another Wolverine goal to put UVU up 2-0 in the 57th. 

The Huskies came knocking on the Wolverines’ door in the 68th minute with two great looks, including a direct shot toward the bottom left corner of the post by Bryant Farkarlun. However, Carter made the save for the Wolverines.

The Wolverines followed with three missed shots before Knecht, assisted by Diego Castillo and Ortiz, drilled in the third goal for UVU in the 75th minute to make the lead 3-0. Castillo almost knocked in an attempt of his own in the 77th minute but Aitken was able to prevent the attempt.

The rest of the half went uneventful as neither side was able to get off a shot until HCU midfielder Sebastian Cochrane fired the final attempt of the game in the 88th minute but was unable to knock it in, ending the match in a 3-0 Wolverine victory.

The Wolverines now look to continue to build their momentum in a matchup against WAC second-place University of Texas Rio Grande Valley on Saturday, Oct. 15, at 3:00 p.m. MT at Clyde Field in Orem, Utah. The match can be streamed on ESPN+.

Gavin Lee

Writer

Sophomore at UVU. Writer for the UVU review, statistician for UVU ESPN+, and play-by-play commentator for UVU Men’s Lacrosse.