It was senior day at Clyde field on Saturday, Nov. 9, as Utah Valley men’s soccer took on Air Force in the final regular season match. AF would net the first goal, but UVU was able to respond with four unanswered goals to win 4-1.
There were seven seniors that were honored before the match on Saturday, defender Aaron Caprio, midfielder Alec Felix, forward Blake Frischknecht, midfielder Luis Vargas, defender Jaiden Waggoner, goalkeeper Mitch Jensen and forward Luis Garza all met at midfield to be recognized.
“Well these seven seniors have done an incredible amount for this program, they’ve continued to build on the foundation, you know, kind of set the standard and expectation for our underclassmen,” said UVU head coach Greg Maas. “I couldn’t be more proud of our response today on senior day, traditionally we’ve struggled on this day.”
Heading into the match UVU led the all-time series against Air Force at 3-0-1. This was the first meeting since 2017 as last season’s match had to be cancelled due to weather.
The first goal of the afternoon was not scored until the 56th minute of the match. AF’s sophomore midfielder Tristan Trager slipped through the UVU defense to find the back of the net. The goal was Trager’s 13th, putting him in sole possession of the WAC lead for goals scored.
UVU would find the equalizer in the 69th minute when junior midfielder Zach Maas netted his sixth goal of the season, doubling his total from last year.
Only nine minutes later, Frischknecht found the back of the net off of a free kick, giving him what would be the game-winner. Just one minute later, Frischknecht added another giving him a brace and putting him in sole possession of second in the WAC for goals scored. He was assisted by Waggoner and Vargas on the goal.
“It’s [UVU] been everything, it’s been great. I wasn’t sure where I’d be going after my mission but it’s been the perfect place for me,” said Frischknecht.
Frischknecht would also end the regular season with 25 points, which is also a UVU single-season record.
The final goal of the afternoon came via a penalty kick taken by Caprio. He lined up to take the kick and fooled the keeper, scoring his first and potentially last career goal in Orem.
“It’s special because it’s my only home goal ever, the only time I’ve ever scored for UVU has been on the road,” said Caprio. “So for me, scoring here at home on senior day was super, super special.”
UVU will now have a few days to prepare for the opening round of the WAC tournament which will take place in Colorado hosted by AF. The Wolverines earned the second seed and will face seventh seeded University of Missouri-Kansas City on Wednesday, Nov. 13, at 6 p.m. MST.
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