Utah Valley men's soccer rallies through adversity to clinch postseason bid in regular-season finale
Utah Valley men's soccer rallies through adversity to clinch postseason bid in regular-season finale
The Wolverines needed a win or a draw in Monday night’s regular-season finale against Grand Canyon to clinch the No. 5 seed in the Western Athletic Conference Tournament.
The postseason hung in the balance for the Utah Valley men’s soccer team, but even that felt like a miracle awakening.
The Wolverines needed a win or a draw in Monday night’s regular-season finale against Grand Canyon to clinch the No. 5 seed in the Western Athletic Conference Tournament.
Twice they took the lead. Twice GCU came back.
In the end, the Wolverines just had to hold on — kind of like their season.
After a 10-match winless streak that included the first two games of conference play, Utah Valley secured a berth in the WAC Tournament with a 2-2 draw against GCU on the final night of the regular season.
Alejandro Silva and Nik Kizerian scored a goal in either half, and the Wolverines needed each one to overcome goals by GCU’s Solo Bidanessy and Zion Long to book the No. 5 seed in the conference tournament.
“A lot of grit. No-quit attitude,” UVU coach Kyle Beckerman said. “We went through a lot of adversity this year, and we were hopeful that as the season went on, we’d use that adversity to help us propel and finish the season the way we wanted it. So now we’ve got another chance, we start fresh — and here we go.”
The Wolverines (3-6-7, 2-2-4 WAC) will open the postseason next Sunday against fourth-seeded and host UNLV at 2 p.m. MT at Peter Johann Memorial Field in Las Vegas. Every match will be streamed on ESPN+.
Utah Valley went unbeaten at home, grinding out result after result even as the season threatened to fall apart.
Now the Wolverines get a second lease on life, a chance at the NCAA Tournament — even if it will take another Herculean effort against the likes of top-seeded Seattle U., which registered the sixth unbeaten season in WAC history at 7-0-1 and 22 points in league play, or second-seeded California Baptist.
But hope lives on, at least for another day.
“It’s huge,” Beckerman said of qualifying for the six-team tournament. “We went undefeated here, which is great for a second year. To go through some tough times and to finish getting in the playoffs and giving us something to believe in is great. It’s a big learning curve for all of us, and we’re hopeful we can keep this going.”
2023 WAC Men’s Soccer Tournament – Seeds And Schedule
Peter Johann Memorial Field
Las Vegas, Nevada
SUNDAY, NOV. 5 – FIRST ROUND
No. 4 seed UNLV vs. No. 5 seed Utah Valley, 2 p.m. MT (ESPN+)
No. 3 seed Utah Tech vs. No. 6 seed San José State , 5 p.m. MT (ESPN+)
WEDNESDAY, NOV. 8 – SEMIFINALS
No. 1 seed Seattle U vs. Match 1 Winner, 4 p.m. MT (ESPN+)
No. 2 seed California Baptist vs. Match 2 Winner, 7 p.m. MT (ESPN+)
SATURDAY, NOV. 11 – CHAMPIONSHIP
Semifinal 1 Winner vs. Semifinal 2 Winner, 1 p.m. MT (ESPN+)
