OREM — It has taken just three years for the Utah Valley University men's soccer team to get to this point. The Wolverines are the Western Athletic Conference regular-season champions and the top seed in this weekend's conference tournament at Clyde Field in Orem.

Led by six All-WAC performers, the 23rd-ranked Wolverines won a school-record 15 games, including 10 shutouts and a nine-game unbeaten streak. The 15 wins are tied for second in the nation.

"It was always our goal to try to secure that No. 1 or 2 seed," UVU head coach Greg Maas said. "We knew that was going to give us our first-round bye. To be able to host this year, really magnifies the importance of that seed. We're excited about the opportunity to be home, to be in front of our 12th Wolverines and certainly look forward to put our best foot forward against UNLV."

UVU will play Friday night against UNLV, which defeated Texas-Rio Grande Valley 3-2 Thursday night. If the Wolverines win the semifinal match, a rematch of the 2015 WAC title game against Seattle is a possibility Sunday afternoon.

"We played a fantastic match last year in the WAC Tournament final against Seattle," Maas said. "We can look at it as being a little bit hard-done on the late PK, but we've learned from that experience. If we match up with Seattle, we won't need any extra motivation."

However, Maas and the Wolverines know they have to take Friday night's semifinal seriously.

"We've got to take this semifinal very, very serious and not look too far ahead. Both teams are very talented," Maas said. "Each of them are well-coached. I think both teams present a little bit of a different approach to the game. UNLV has good individual attacking players, good and quick combinations. They obviously have Danny Musovski up top that's very dangerous at any moment in the game.

"UTRGV is a bit more of a collective group, difficult to break down defensively and very good in moments when they do go forward and on set pieces."

"We know our semifinal match is going to feature a very motivated and excited team to play us and a very difficult opponent for us but we're ready," he said.

WAC Champions

19th-ranked UVU wins WAC regular season title on final day

The 19th-ranked UVU men's soccer team has been an NCAA Division I program for all of three years, but on Saturday it won its first conference title and earned the top-seed in next weekend's conference tournament.

With an RPI ranking of 34, and sitting at 23 in the NSCAA Coaches poll, there is potential for UVU to host an NCAA Tournament game at Clyde Field. Maas and his team believe with the regular-season title and tournament title in hand, the Wolverines could be one of 16 national seeds and potentially get a first-round bye in the NCAA Tournament.

"We knew that winning the regular-season WAC championship was going to put us in a great position," Maas said. "For us, right now, we just need to win games. Right now, it's out of our hands. It's in the NCAA's Selection Committee's hands. We feel there are three different scenarios that send us on the road or hosting first round. I think if we do win the next two games and win the WAC regular-season and conference-tournament championship, then I very much feel we'll be a top-16 seed and possibly receive a first-round bye, hosting the second round here at Utah Valley."

Kickoff for the semifinal match is scheduled for 6 p.m. MT at Clyde Field in Orem.

Kyle McDonald is sports fan who loves the Chicago Cubs and the Utah Valley University Wolverines. He is a communication major at UVU and will graduate in the spring of 2017. Follow him on Twitter at @kylesportsbias

Related topics