In the first game of a five game road trip, the Wolverines topped Big West Conference member, California State University Northridge, on Thursday night 2-0.
The first half of the match was a tightly contested battle as both sides were able to get off two shots. CSUN was able to get one of their two shots on goal, unlike the Wolverines but UVU keeper Jason Smith was able to get a hand on it and file a save in the 10th minute. The CSUN Matadors played more physical in the first half of the match racking in seven fouls compared to the Wolverines three.
In the second half the Wolverines were able to push through the Matador defense and rally behind sophomore Kendi Bellini and true freshman Mark Andros for two goals. Bellini’s goal came off a save deflection in the 63rd minute and Andros was able to come away with a steal from a Matador defender and bury the shot in the bottom-right corner in the 67th minute.
Overall the Wolverines were outshot 13-7 by the Matadors but were able to put up the same amount of shots on goal with both sides putting five on goal. UVU’s sophomore goalkeeper Jason Smith was able to shut out CSUN for his third shutout of the season with five saves. The Wolverines played a cleaner match, only committing eight fouls compared to the Matadors’ fifteen, but both sides walked away from the match with one yellow card a piece.
The Wolverines second stop of their five game road trip is in Santa Barbara where they will face UC Santa Barbara on Sep. 11 at 8 p.m. MT and can be streamed on ESPN+.
For a full team schedule and information, visit gouvu.com.
