Cougars, the 15-the ranked, will host the Wolverines NCAA women’s soccer tournament on Friday. The audience was excited about the re-match of the annual regular season contest.
Utah Valley coach Chris Lemay said in an interview, “I couldn’t be prouder of the team’s effort,”
He also said, “I thought they executed the game plan well. I thought we took our chances. We were up against a very good side at BYU. We knew that it would take everything that we had. We showed up and we gave it everything for a full 90 minutes. The result was fair and well earned.”
“When I was hired at Utah Valley, I said that we needed to get this program in a spot where one bad day or one misfortune in one weekend doesn’t affect our ability to get into the NCAA Tournament and we’ve finally got there, and arrived,” Lemay said. “It’s something we’ve been building for a long time. Throughout the season, we did prove that we’re deserving of being recognized as one of the best teams in the country and you can’t have a national tournament without one of the best teams in the nation.
“We’re very grateful to the committee for doing their due diligence and doing their homework about how good we are and can be.”
He also added, “I think we were just in a rut; I don’t know if the team knew why,” freshman Allie Frey said of the unbeaten run that followed the loss to the Wolverines. “But we’re very attack-minded as a team, and I think we lost that. Our coaches have drilled into our heads to be shooters first. We’re a shooting team, and I think everyone has taken the confidence to take those shots.
“I think that’s the biggest difference: We’re finally taking shots.” Allie Fryer tied the match for 2-2.
Later, the Wolverines won the Western Athletic Conference with a record 14-4-3, including a 9-1-1. UVU was led by Stainbrook, who had 13 goals with seven assists.
The Monday appearance draw will be the first time the team appears at Utah Valley. But the fans were also surprised to see that the Cougars haven’t lost since that match on Sept. 10, an 11-match unbeaten streak that includes seven wins route to the No. 2 team in the West Coast Conference.
Not only this, but the run also managed to include a scoreless draw against Santa Clara, which lead the team to win the national tournament.
In a showdown for supremacy, the No. 15 Brigham Young University men’s soccer team is set to take on Utah Valley in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. This high-stakes matchup is especially poignant given that the teams have already met this season, with BYU coming out on top 1-0.
Both teams have been impressive this year, with BYU posting an impressive 15-3-1 record and Utah Valley finishing 9-6-2. However, it’s worth noting that the latter team won its conference tournament, proving that they are more than capable of causing an upset.
The key to BYU’s success has been their defense, which has allowed just nine goals in their last thirteen games. They’ll be relying on that defense to keep Utah Valley at bay and hand their opponents a second defeat. But they’ll also need their offense to step up, with forward Betuel Dassah leading the way with 11 goals on the season.
Meanwhile, Utah Valley is a well-rounded squad, with their attack led by senior forward Blake Frischknecht, who has eight goals and eight assists this season. They’ll need to stay organized and focused throughout the game if they hope to advance to the next round of the tournament.
Overall, this game promises to be an exciting one, with high stakes and plenty of drama. Both teams will be giving it their all on the field, and it’s anyone’s guess who will come out on top. One thing is for certain, however- this is a matchup you won’t want to miss.
