The Utah Valley University men’s soccer club defeated the University of Texas Rio Grande 2-0 at Clyde Field in Orem, Utah on Saturday. UVU’s two second-half goals pushed them to victory.
Abel Mendoza and Diego Castillo both scored goals for the Wolverines as they moved to 4-5-1 on the season and sit fifth in the Western Athletic Conference standings. Uncharacteristic of this gritty Wolverine squad, there were no yellow or red cards administered in the matchup. However, the Wolverines still racked up 17 fouls as a team. The difference maker in the matchup was shots on goal, as the Wolverines had five shots on target while UTRGV had none. The Wolverines also out-shot UTRGV overall 10-9.
The Wolverines would get their first good look at a goal in the 13th minute, as Castillo fired a shot bottom right that was saved by the Vaquero’s Simon Madsen. In a slow first half, the Wolverines would not get another shot on frame.
Utah Valley picked things up offensively, putting the pressure on the Vaquero defense in the second half. Coming out of the gate, the Wolverines scored a goal in the 46th minute as Ura Miura set up Mendoza for the score.
In the 80th minute, the Wolverines had multiple consecutive shots on goal. To kick things off, Mark Andros fired a shot to the bottom left that was saved. Off the deflection, Castillo fired a shot to the center of the net that was also deflected, however the Wolverines finally put the ball into the back of the net on the third attempt as Castillo knocked it in off the deflection. Claiming a 2-0 lead with only 10 minutes left, the Wolverines would sit back and let their defense ride out the win.
Utah Valley next travels to Seattle, Washington to face a relatively evenly matched Seattle University squad. The match takes place on Friday, Oct. 21 at 8 p.m. MT and can be streamed on ESPN+.
