Monday night brought a doubleheader to UCCU Stadium in Orem with the Utah Valley men’s and women’s soccer teams coming together in front of fans.
Here’s a look at Fútbol Home Evening.
Utah Valley men improve to 2-0 with 1-0 win over Central Arkansas
Nil Grau scored his first goal of the season to help the UVU men’s soccer team improve to 2-0 with a 1-0 win over Central Arkansas in the first game of the Monday evening doubleheader.
Grau opened the scoring in the 25th minute, finishing off a long throw-in from Noah Pogue that Jose Luis Martin Montealegre flicked into the box for the Spaniard’s close-range finish for his first goal of the year.
Pogue, who grew up in Draper, has been working on being more effective from the throw-in.
The Corner Canyon graduate was definitely that, flipping a ball from the touchline that caromed off Montealegre in the penalty box before falling to Grau for the close-range look.
“As soon as I saw Noah holding the ball, I knew he has a rocket on his hands,” Grau said. “
The Wolverines out-shot Central Arkansas 10-7, and held the Bears without a shot on target in goalkeeper Kolby Sessions’ season debut between the posts.
Hendrix goal, Nystrom PK save push Utah State past UVU
Ellie Hendrix scored the only goal of the match in the 35th minute as Utah State improved to 2-1-1 with a 1-0 win over Utah Valley in the second match of the doubleheader.
The Aggies put each of their first eight shots on target, including Ellie Hendrix’s 35th-minute goal that came against the run of play.
But the Desert Hills alum took a pass from Samantha Sellers near the top of the penalty box and curved a well-placed ball that dipped inside the top left corner to give Utah State the halftime lead.
The Wolverines (0-2-1) found more of the ball in the second half, finishing with a 13-11 shots advantage and limiting the Aggies to a single shot on frame after halftime.
But Ivy Nystrom — who made just the second start of her career Monday night — made five saves to keep the shutout.
“I thought we executed the game plan almost to perfection in the first half,” USU coach Manny Martins said. “Maybe if we put away one of the others, it’s a different second half.
”But I’m not surprised. Utah Valley is an excellent squad … and I’m really proud of the group.”
The biggest may have come in the 73rd minute, when the sophomore from Phoenix stopped Mia Owens’ penalty kick to keep the visitors in front.
“We can’t evaluate ourselves solely on the scoreboard,” UVU coach Chris Lemay said after the game. “Obviously, it’s Division I college soccer and you want to win, but with that being said, you can play well and not get the result. I felt like we did a lot right tonight. I thought that we created a number of chances in the second half.”
