The men’s soccer team kept their momentum going on Saturday night after a long road trip as they beat the University of Missouri-Kansas City Kangaroos 2-0. It was UVU’s defense that stood out in this victory as UMKC had only eight shots total on the night and none on goal.
“Our defending and our mantra with this team is our defense starts up front. If we can minimize things and put pressure on to force the opponent to turn the ball over up the field and on the midfield, it’s less work for our defenders,” said coach Greg Maas.
It was a back and forth game of stout defense from both sides until the 38 minute mark when freshman Samuel Krommenhoek broke open the scoring on a header for the Wolverines. The opening goal of the game was the first of Krommenhoek’s career and assisted by sophomore Zach Maas.
“It’s hard to really explain how it feels for the first one,” said Krommenhoek. He was elated about his first career goal but kept it about the team and explained how important it was that they played as one throughout the game taking advantage of every opportunity.
With a slow start to the second half, the possession of the ball was very back and forth. At the 75 minute mark, UVU tacked on another goal via a header again, this time by junior Alec Felix. Carter Johnson assisted on the play and now has three assists in his last four games.
Coach Maas explained that it was his team’s resilience and patience on what stood out to him the most during the game. “I think our team is starting to show tremendous maturity and I don’t think that any one player out performed any others. It was a collective effort today and it started with our patience and resilience on the field. It’s been enjoyable to watch and be apart of as of late,” said Maas.
Krommenhoek described what the team would be looking to do in the final two home games of the season. “We know that working hard and continuing to each do our jobs the way we’ve been doing will serve us best. That’s been our biggest strength, and if we execute that way we’re bound for success. Every single game in this conference is tough and is going to continue to get tougher. But we know if we can continue our hard work and play we can overcome anything.”
