UVU moves up two places in latest poll
Wolverines continue to garner national attention
Kyle McDonald | Sport editor | @kylesportsbias
After defeating Air Force Academy on Friday night and Missouri-Kansas City on Sunday afternoon, the Utah Valley University men’s soccer team moved up two spots in this weeks NSCAA Coaches Poll to No. 23. UVU was also ranked No. 23 in this week’s College Soccer News Top 30. They are No. 2 in the NSCAA West Region right behind No. 9 Denver who the Wolverines lost to in overtime on September 20.
UVU defender Giovanny Vazquez attempts to get the ball away from UMKC defender Nick Cramer
“Our national ranking is a tremendous honor,” UVU head coach Greg Maas said. “But that said, our team has a laser focus on the WAC and each respective opponent.”
The Wolverines had to come from behind to defeat Air Force in overtime on Friday night. Austin Buxton scored the equalizer in the 66th minute. Then in overtime, during a scramble in front of the Falcon goal, Skyler Milne scored the golden goal on a header to give UVU the win.
On Sunday afternoon, it was all Wolverines. They scored three goals in the first half. Skyler Milne, Karson Payton and Paul Hoffmeister each scored and freshman Aaron Meyer had a pair of assists in the win.
The Wolverines earned a big three points in Western Athletic Conference play and kept pace with 19th-ranked Seattle University. Both teams are currently atop the WAC standings with identical 9-2-0 records. They will meet on November 7 at Clyde Field.
The Wolverines will go on the road for five of their next six matches. First is a trip to Texas to face a pair of WAC foes. They take on the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, in Edinburg. They then travel to Houston to face off against Houston Baptist. UTRGV is coming off a huge win against defending WAC champion UNLV on Sunday afternoon.
Houston Baptist is looking for their first win in conference play.
The Wolverines are 5-1 away from Clyde Field this year and Maas expects that to continue.
“We’ve been a very focused and disciplined team on the road,” Maas said. “And this weekend in Texas will be no exception.
UVU will come home to face San Jose State following the trip to Texas. They will follow that up with three straight road contests at CSU Bakersfield, at Grand Canyon, and at WAC defending champion UNLV.
They finish off their regular season schedule with two home matches against Incarnate Word and 19th-ranked Seattle University.
There are four teams undefeated in WAC play right now with Seattle, UVU and Grand Canyon each sporting 2-0 records. San Jose State has won their lone WAC match. The WAC is a strong soccer conference evidenced by the fact that defending champ UNLV is in fifth place after the first weekend.
“Make no mistake, top to bottom, men’s soccer in the WAC is very good,” Maas said.
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