UVU came out victorious from a five match losing streak at Clyde Field. The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley came ready to play but couldn’t get it done, falling to the Wolverines 2-1.
Ball control and placement early in the game gave UVU a lead in the sixth minute. Junior Blake Frischknecht got locked up with an opposing player in the penalty box, giving Frischknecht the chance to get his team on the board first. He sent the ball into the bottom left of the net off the penalty kick, giving the wolverines the quick 1-0 lead.
“I couldn’t be more proud of how we started the match today,” head coach Greg Maas said. “The difference was today we got that early first goal and it gave us confidence and momentum.”
UTRGV took their turn to score with an attempt in the thirteenth minute but came up empty. UTRGV’s junior Kyle Edwards quickly fired again in the nineteenth minute to score in the upper left corner of the net, past UVU’s goalkeeper Joseph Wheelwright, tying the game 1-1. UTRGV came with pressure, taking 10 shots on goal, where UVU only had eight.
UVU found themselves another chance to get on the board when freshman Carter Johnson got mixed up with an opposing player in the twenty-ninth minute. Frischknecht took the penalty kick sending the ball right over the Vaquero wall and past UTRGV’s goalkeeper Andy Rios, into the bottom corner of the net.
The second half of play continued in a competitive nature, the Vaqueros coming out harder, and down 2-1. Both teams tried for a couple shots, but came up empty handed finishing the match 2-1.
“We showed a lot of determination and grit and we did withstand some of their pressure for the last 15 to 20 minutes, ” Maas said. “We bent but we didn’t break.”
UVU will head out to California to play California Baptist on Oct. 5 and CSU Bakersfield on Oct. 7.
Photo credit: Thomas Willis
