Friday Night Lights: UVU kicks off season with a big win

OREM, UT – 

UVU head coach Greg Maas has never lost a home opener since taking over the job patrolling the Clyde Field sidelines five years ago.

On Friday night, coach Maas did it again, extending that streak at least one more year. As the Wolverines kicked off the 2019 campaign with a 1-0 victory against Cal Poly University, behind a 70 minute goal from senior forward Blake Frischknecht. 

Frischknecht — who was aggressive all night long — finally found the back of the net after beating two defenders on the right side of the net. As he lost his balance, Frischknecht cocked back his right root and rifled the ball into the upper right hand corner, just past the keeper’s outstretched arms.

“I hit it just right,” said Frischknecht, who became the first Wolverine to score this season. “In the first half I got the ball in similar situations but didn’t close ‘em down, so going into the second half I said ‘I just gotta shoot’ and luckily I hit that one pretty well.” The senior striker ended the game with four shots in total, two of those being on target and the one sneaking in for a goal.

“His finish in the upper-90 was world class,” said coach Maas of his senior goal-scorer. “It was a deserved goal, but I would’ve liked to see an opportunity earlier but we’ll take it. We’ve got a lot of things to work on before we look forward to next weekend.”

The Wolverines were sloppy at times, committing 13 fouls throughout against a very physical Mustangs team. CPSU accounted for 19 fouls of their own, including five yellow cards for over-aggression.

The Wolverines will travel to Southern California to take on Cal State Northridge University and Cal State Fullerton University on Friday, Sept. 6 and Sunday, Sept. 8.

Photo by Cameron Hunsinger