The Utah Valley Wolverines defeated Sam Houston 6-1 in the first round of the WAC tournament on Wednesday, Nov. 3 at Elmer Gray Stadium in Abilene, Texas.
The Wolverines led from start to finish as five different players were able to score. Nicole Olanda, Breanna Eves, Amber Tripp, Manthy Brady all scored and Sadie Brockbank found the back of the net twice. It was an offensive marvel from the Wolverines as the team had an astounding 33 shots and 14 shots on goal.
Opening up the match, the Wolverines found their first goal from Olanda in the eighth minute. Olanda took the ball straight down the middle from midfield and ran into a straight-on goal that slid into the bottom right corner of the net.
The Wolverines would get a good number of chances before finding their next goal in the 29th minute which came from Brockbank. After receiving a pass deep into Bearkat territory, Brockbank turned and beat her defender off the dribble before firing a shot that went right over the keeper and just dropped into the top of the net.
Just before halftime, Ashley Hughes fired a cross over the middle that Eves was able to connect with on a header. The shot went right past the keeper into the right side of the net, putting the Wolverines up 3-0.
After relinquishing a goal in the 53rd minute, the Wolverines found yet another goal from Brockbank. After catching a pass on the right side, Brockbank made her move to get around her defender and fired a shot from right to left, bouncing it off the left post and into the net.
Not long after, Julianna Carter fired a cross from the right side, finding Tripp in stride who fired a left-footed shot into the lower right side of the net. All of the momentum was going the Wolverines way as the team took an overwhelming 4-1 lead in the 70th minute.
Finally putting the nail in the coffin in the 76th minute, Brady made a series of moves going from right to left, firing a shot and just notching it past the outstretched arms of the Bearkat keeper, capping off an overwhelming performance for the Wolverines.
Along with the Wolverines six goals, Brooklyn Nielsen came up with two saves on the defensive end as the Wolverines held the Bearkats to eight shots.
UVU now advances to the semifinal of the WAC tournament, facing off against Stephen F. Austin on Friday, Nov. 5. The match begins at 6 p.m. MT and can be streamed on ESPN+.
