Kenzie Jones, Sports Editor, @kenziescribler
Utah Valley men’s soccer team took the felid in Nampa, Idaho Saturday in their first and only exhibition game against Northwest Nazarene. The start of the inaugural year for the male Wolverines ended in the same fashion as their lady counterparts the day before.
The game started off with both teams playing strong until Crusaders newcomer Rene Duevel booted a home rebound putting the Wolverines behind midway through the first half. It wasn’t until Chandler Boyd placed a header off a throw-in by Matt Gay into the goal and ending up tying the game with 4:18 left on the clock that UVU looked to be taking control of the game.
The male Wolverines sent 25 different players on the felid and got off 15 shots, seven on goal, where as the Crusaders only made seven shots, two on goal. The aggressive play of UVU just wasn’t enough to get past NNU’s defense.
The male Crusaders determined effort led to Erik Anderson being pushed down going for a loose ball in UVU’s goal box. With 2 minutes, 31 seconds remaining in regulation Julio Castillo converted the ensuing penalty kick; nailing the game-winner just inside the left goal post, with a 2-1 score.
It was a great win for Northwest Nazarene University in their exhibition debut. Utah Valley returns home to prepare for their opening game in the inaugural season. Hopeful the home felid advantage will aid the male Wolverines in a win.
Men’s soccer takes the felid Saturday, August 30th against Massachusetts at 7:30pm MT. The game will also be broadcast live on NSCAA.tv.
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