Things continue to worsen for Utah Valley on the pitch this season. After dropping two more games to North Dakota State and South Dakota State by a combined score of 8-1, the lady Wolverines’s record drops to 2-11-1 on the year.
With two regular season games remaining, both on the road Utah Valley is on the final stretch of the season and is now slipping into must-win mode.
Before hosting the United Soccer Conference Tournament in early November the Wolverines took on two conference opponents in New Jersey Tech and Delaware State at Wolverine Field and looked to avoid going winless at home this season.
"This weekend will determine our seeding for the tournament," Coach Anderson said. "We want to get some positive results."
In a tough loss to NDSU, in which Utah Valley was held scoreless in the 1-0 defeat, the tying goal scored by the Wolverines was taken away in the 88th minute due to a late handball called by the referee.
It didn’t get any easier as Utah Valley traveled south to take on SDSU and was blown out 7-1.
Freshman Chelsey Ellison scored the lone goal, which was also her first of the season.
"In the first 15 minutes we had some opportunities," Anderson said. "The difference was, we let in a goal and from that moment collapsed." One of the many things that have plagued the young team has been discouragement. On several occasions this year, Utah Valley has allowed an early goal and had to fight back.
"Once that ball goes in, we’re more worried about losing the game instead of winning the game," Anderson said. "We just have to keep focus on playing our game, working on our process and we’ll be OK."
After the team’s final two home games over the weekend, Utah Valley will hit the road against Southern Utah and Eastern Washington to close out the regular season.
