College soccer roundup: Wolverines' open Beckerman's 3rd season with home win
Utah Valley men’s soccer opened former RSL midfielder Kyle Beckerman’s third season with a resounding 4-0 win Thursday night over Missouri-Kansas City at Clyde Field.
OREM, Utah — Utah Valley men’s soccer opened Kyle Beckerman’s third season with a resounding 4-0 win Thursday night over Missouri-Kansas City at Clyde Field.
Saint Mary’s transfer Omar Yehya and Owen Knecht each had a goal and an assist to lead the Wolverines (1-0), and Tom Dobek-Pietrowski and Ura Miura each added a goal.
Elijah Gozo, the Westlake High and RSL Academy product whose younger brother Zavier has played this season for Real Monarchs, also had an assist for UVU, which out-shot the Roos 20-8 with seven shots on goal.
"We always want to set the tone," said Beckerman, the former Real Salt Lake midfield legend whose team improved to 10-0 in home openers in the club’s 10 seasons. “We want to be on the front foot as much as we can. These boys took the message and ran with it today. They were eager to get out there. We knew it was going to be a group effort, and I thought everyone that came on kept the level high."
Landon Carter made four saves to earn the shutout for the Wolverines, who host No. 23 Western Michigan on Sunday in Beckerman’s return to America First Field for the first time as a collegiate head coach.
“It’s just going to be a great experience for the guys,” Beckerman said. “I’m really looking forward to them getting to experience what I got to. We’ve got a great opponent in Western Michigan, and it should be fun.”
Gates open at 12 p.m. MT, with kickoff scheduled for 1 p.m. MT on ESPN+. Parking is available in the stadium’s west lot.
San Francisco 1, Utah Tech 0
At San Francisco, Max Hamelink’s goal in the 64th minute lifted the Dons past the Trailblazers in the season opener for both teams.
Eric Waltz made five saves to earn the shutout for USF (1-0).
Stockton Short made six saves for the Trailblazers (0-1).
Women’s soccer
BYU 2, Long Beach State 0
At BYU, Olivia Wade Katoa and Bella Folino each scored a goal as the No. 11-ranked Cougars picked up a 2-0 victory over Long Beach State to improve to 3-0.
Savanna Mason made five saves to earn the shutout for BYU, which picked up its first clean sheet of the regular season.
“It was a huge win for us to start this season 3-0 playing against a very good Long Beach State team that is very quick and technical,” BYU head coach Jennifer Rockwood said. “We got off to a slow start, but really regrouped at halftime and came out really strong, and it was a much better performance in the second half.”
Utah 1, Utah State 0
At Utah State, Talian Kaufusi scored in the 80th minute to help the University of Utah to a 1-0 win over in-state rival Utah State at Chuck and Gloria Bell Soccer Field in Logan.
Kasey Wardle made three saves to clinch the shutout for the Utes (2-0-1), who host No. 19 Clemson on Sunday.
Clemson 2, Utah Valley 0
At UVU, Dani Davis and Jenna Tobia each scored a second-half goal to lead the Tigers to a 2-0 win in the Wolverines’ home opener in front of 2,678 fans at Clyde Field, part of a doubleheader with the men’s program.
Utah Valley falls to 1-1-1 on the season with the result.
"I thought that was the best performance that we've had all year," Utah Valley head coach Chris Lemay said. "We were on the wrong side of the scoreboard obviously but Clemson's a good team. I thought we threw punches with them for the better part of 90 minutes. I can't be happy with the result, but I am happy with our performance. Our players left it all on the field tonight."
After a scoreless first half, Davis gave Clemson (2-0-1) the go-ahead goal in the 48th minute, before Tobia broke away and scored in the 87th minute to seal the road win.
Idaho 1, Utah Tech 0
At Utah Tech, Kylie Hummel scored in the 77th minute to help the Vandals take the road win over the Trailblazers.
Gonzaga 9, Weber State 2
At Gonzaga, Marissa Garcia, Giana Riley and Shelby Runje each scored a brace, and the Bulldogs buried six first-half goals to cruise past the Wildcats and improve to 3-0.
Sayler Schlosser scored both second-half goals for the Wildcats (0-2), who will face Washington State before returning home Aug. 31 to host UNLV.
Bonus
This one isn’t college soccer news, but it’s news about a former RSL player who is roughly the age of some of these college players.
Former Real Salt Lake goalkeeper David Ochoa an academy goalkeeper coach for the Ventura County Fusion, the club which plays in MLS NEXT announced Thursday.
The 22-year-old native of Oxnard, California, signed his first pro contract with Real Monarchs in 2018 before being elevated to the first team full-time two years later. Ochoa went on to compete 26 times for the Claret-and-Cobalt over two seasons before falling out of favor and being transferred to D.C. United.
He made nine appearances in the nation’s capital prior to a move to Atletico San Luis in Mexico earlier this year.
A dual Mexican-American international, Ochoa made the roster for the United States at the 2021 CONCACAF Nations League finals before filing a one-time FIFA switch to represent Mexico and earning his first call-up under then-manager Gerardo “Tata” Martino for a friendly against Guatemala in 2022.