Utah college soccer: Wolverines men, women sweep Thursday night doubleheader
Thursday’s shutout victory over the Hornets marks the fifth consecutive clean sheet for Utah Valley, tied for the longest shutout streak in program history and the longest to open a season.
OREM, Utah (Sept. 4, 2025) — Kolby Sessions recorded a season-high five saves, and Noah Pogue had a goal and an assist as the No. 18 Wolverines cruised to a 3-0 over Sacramento State at UCCU Stadium.
Thursday’s shutout victory over the Hornets marks the fifth consecutive clean sheet for Utah Valley, tied for the longest shutout streak in program history and the longest to open a season.
The Wolverines (5-0-0) are the first team in Western Athletic Conference (WAC) men’s soccer history to open a season with five consecutive shutout wins, a streak that includes when the previous iteration of the conference from 1996-99 in addition to UVU joining the league in 2013.
“We say it a lot: our best defense is when we have the ball, and our best offense is when we don’t,” Utah Valley fifth-year coach Kyle Beckerman said. “I think the ball possession, being able to attack but also defend with it and stay in control really helps us to get these clean sheets.”
Toke Amtrup opened the scoring midway through the first half, finishing a chance after Noah Pogue flicked on Keegan Oyler’s free kick into the box in the 32nd minute to put the Wolverines in front early.
Pogue doubled the advantage 10 minutes after halftime, finishing his second goal of the season inside the box from Isaac Emojong, and Dan McKay capped the scoring in the 87th minute off a cross from Jose Luis Martin Montealgre.
Pogue, the 6-foot-2 junior wingback from Corner Canyon High School, has two goals and two assists on the year — in addition to earning WAC Defensive Player of the Week honors following a pair of shutout wins over CSU Bakersfield and Gonzaga to open the season.
“He’s been incredible for us. His work ethic is just incredible, his engine, and the amount of ground he can cover. And in our system, those guys are super important to get up and down; when we can get him the ball, it gives him a chance to get even higher.
“He’s really taken on the role, and it seems to be a perfect fit for him. But whether he scores or not, he just always brings the defensive presence every game and really brings the energy we need.”
Webber’s brace leads Utah Valley women to first SEC win in program history
Faith Webber has accomplished plenty during her Utah Valley women’s soccer career — one that was extended by a legal injunction that gave certain former junior college athletes an extra season of eligibility in the NCAA this past summer.
But in her three seasons in Orem, she had never done one thing — same as her team in program history: beat an SEC opponent.
Until Thursday night.
Webber’s brace helped the Wolverines snap a three-match winless skid in the biggest way possible, and Leah Wolf made eight clutch saves to lift Utah Valley to a 3-2 win over LSU at UCCU Stadium.
Taylor Nelson added a goal and an assist for the Wolverines, who improved to 2-2-1 on the year while dropping the Tigers to 4-3 in their first of two matches in the Beehive State.
“The SEC’s the SEC, right? It’s the best conference in the country,” Webber said. “Never had we beaten an SEC team, and I think that says it all right there: We can hang with the best of the best.
“That team was receiving votes in the top 25, and competes against some of the best players in the country twice a week,” she added. “Knowing that we can go out there and compete with anybody … You can’t say those things until you win. And now we actually won, so all of the things that we had been saying, it’s real.”
Added UVU coach Chris Lemay: “It’s a powerful conference, and they’re a good team. For us to go out there, I thought there were spells where we looked really special. We were dangerous on the ball, we kept our composure, good maturity.”
It wasn’t just a winless drought for the Wolverines, though. Webber, who led the nation last season in goals per game, herself had just one goal in the first four matches of her graduate senior campaign.
The reigning WAC Offensive player of the year was held scoreless in back-to-back games for the first time since last October in a 2-0 loss to Auburn and a 1-1 draw with California.
Webber gave the Wolverines an early lead a half hour in, finishing off a chance set up by Ruby Hladek and Nixan Jackson.
But LSU equalized less than five minutes later en route to a 1-1 halftime stalemate.
Greta Davis found Taylor Nelson in the 58th minute to propel Utah Valley back in front, and Webber added another — from Nelson, again — to stretch the lead to 3-1 in the 65th minute.
Gabbi Ceballos pulled one back with 10 minutes remaining for the Tigers.
Leah Wolf made eight saves for Utah Valley, including a stop in the 79th minute followed by a subsequent follow-up that caromed off the other post.
Here’s a look at more results from around Utah college soccer from Thursday night:
Presley Ray scored the first goal in Weber State and Big Sky history to lift the Wildcats to a 2-0 road win over Boise State. Lauren Butorac made four saves to collect her first collegiate shutout in goal.
Junior defender Michelle Rodriguez scored the match-winner from a header with three minutes remaining to lift Utah Tech to a 3-2 win over Idaho State to move to 3-2-1 on the year.
Kelly Bullock scored her second game-winning goal of the season, and Erin Gibbs made three saves as Utah improved to 4-1-1 on the season with a 1-0 win over previously unbeaten Washington in Seattle.