Kyle McDonald | Sports editor | @kylesportsbias
Bakersfield, CA — For the Utah Valley University women’s soccer team, winning the Western Athletic Conference championship and getting to the NCAA tournament was a goal at the beginning of the season. 
They are one step closer to that goal. They face No. 3 seed University of Missouri-Kansas City on Friday evening at 5 p.m. MT in a semifinal matchup. It is the second meeting of the season between the two teams as the Wolverines defeated the ‘Roos 1-0 back on October 2 in Kansas City. It was one of three road wins on the season for UVU.
UMKC beat the University of Texas Rio Grand Valley on Thursday evening 3-0 to earn a spot in the semifinal matchup. UMKC is 14-5-1 overall and 7-2-1 in WAC play which is identical to UVU’s 7-2-1 conference record. However, UVU earned the No. 2 seed in the tournament with their victory back on October 2.
The ‘Roos are led by Lexie Howard, who has 13 goals and four assists on the season. She will look to keep the pressure on the Wolverine defense and WAC Defensive Player of the Year Jessica Duffin. Duffin has six shutouts and has helped the UVU defense only give up 1.29 goals per game. 
UVU will also look to All-WAC performers Kasandra Anderson, Kali Stubbs, Sheridan Fox, Jamie Brown, and Kalli Suesue to help keep the pressure on the UMKC defense and goalkeepers who have accounted for 10 shutouts on the season.
The winner of this match will take on the winner of the Seattle University vs. CSU Bakersfield match on Sunday afternoon at noon MT.
