UVU survives double OT thriller against Canisius

OREM, Utah – 

Alex Felix was the hero for the Wolverines late on Friday night. With 100 minutes of soccer already played, Utah Valley University narrowly escaped with a 4-3 victory at Clyde Field over Canisius College. 

“First and foremost, credit to our players for their resiliency and character throughout the match,” said UVU head coach Greg Maas. “We’re coming off of two very tough matches last week on the road and our fatigue definitely showed in the first half.”

“We dug in deep, we rolled up our sleeves, got a little bit dirty, and we figured out how to win a tough match,” said Maas.

Felix, a senior midfielder, fired home the game-winning goal on an assist from fellow senior Luis Garza. The goal was Felix’s second of the year, and capped the comeback for UVU.

After a sluggish first half, the Wolverines came out firing in the second. Trailing 1-0 after halftime, UVU completely changed the complexion of the game by scoring two goals within 20 minutes to take a 2-1 lead. Freshman midfielder Aidan Dayton netted his first goal of the season, and career, to tie the game in the 50th minute. 

Just 15 minutes later, junior Zach Maas took advantage of a misplayed save off the hands of the Canisius keeper. He then buried the ball into the corner of the net.

The game really opened up heading into the final 15 minutes with UVU clinging to a 2-1 lead, but then Canisius knotted the score back up with a pretty shot off the foot of Italian freshman Federico Mereto.

Less than two minutes later, the Wolverines retook the advantage behind a soft finish from sophomore Leo Fuchs, also his first of the campaign. 

60 seconds after the UVU goal, Canisius leveled the score yet again. This time with a rocket goal off the foot of junior Manuele Cavazzoli, who’s also from Italy. 

The score remained tied until Felix sealed the victory in the second overtime. The win was the second for UVU on the young season as they improved their record to 2-1-1. 

Next up for UVU on the season, they face UC Irvine at home on Sept. 16 before traveling to Las Vegas to battle with Santa Clara on Sept. 19.

Photo by Cameron Hunsinger