Tim Castaneda, Sports Writer, @xTIMBOxSLICEx
UVU men’s soccer reached another historic milestone as it upset nationally ranked number 21 Denver in a 2-1 win Friday night at Clyde Field. The match marked UVU’s first ever match and victory against a nationally ranked opponent.
After a scoreless first half, both teams picked up their offensive play in the second half as three goals were scored with UVU. The first goal of the night was a remarkable shot by mid-fielder Lucas Cawley from 25 yards as the ball went over the reach of Denver keeper Oliver Brown to give UVU the lead in the 64th minute. Denver responded with a goal of its own at the 70 minute mark on the header by Eric Kronenberg from the right side of the goal.
The UVU crowd roared as mid-fielder Skyler Milne gave UVU a one shot lead at the 75 minute mark. Found Austin Buxton found Milne on the right side of the box for the assist after dribbling the ball just inside the box on the left side. Milne received the sliding pass from his teammate 15 feet from the goal and buried the ball into the bottom left corner of the net as he put UVU up with 15 minutes to play.
“I heard coach said ‘GO’ so I took off on a run,” said Milne about the game-winning play. “Luckily (Alex) Buxton kept the ball, I made a great run, he found me on the backside and I was able to slide it through. It’s amazing.”
The Denver squad continued to put pressure on the UVU defense in the final minutes as they attempted to even the score. In the 83rd minute Denver forward Teddy Mullin missed a shot as he attempted a sliding shot from the right side. At the 84 minute mark Kronenberg’s shot attempt missed outside of the right post leading to a UVU goal kick. Denver’s last hope came when mid-fielder Jordan Schweitzer attempted a desperation shot from 25 feet out at the top left corner of the box. Despite the many opportunities, Denver’s comeback attempt to avoid the upset fell short.
“Denver was an incredible team. It took a long time to adjust in the game,” said UVU Head Coach Greg Maas. “Thankfully we were resilient when we needed to be in the game.”
The win boosts UVU’s home record to 3-0 as they continue to establish home-field advantage using Clyde Field as the 12th man. The Wolverines improve their overall record to 3-2-0 on the season.
UVU men’s soccer next plays UC Riverside September 26 at 5:30 p.m. MT, as it travels to Las Vegas, Nevada for a tournament in which it is also scheduled to play the 6th ranked program in the nation in UC Irvine September 28.
