OREM — After dropping a match at No. 23 Kansas last week, Utah Valley women's soccer returned home to face another team receiving votes in the top 25 in California, which entered the match 2-1-1.
A quick response to Cal's 51st-minute goal allowed Utah Valley to earn a 1-1 draw with the Golden Bears Thursday night. Utah Valley now moves to 1-1-1 on the season, picking up just its third tie in two years.
Utah Valley keeper Leah Wolf initially denied a Cal attack, but Coco Thistle created enough space to fire a shot into the right corner to put the Golden Bears ahead. In the 60th minute, Ruby Hladek found space and fired a shot that deflected off a Cal defender and into the net to even the score.
Cal nearly broke the tie in the 90th minute when Thistle, again, created space, but her shot went wide. Utah Valley had a chance of its own moments later when Mia Owens' header missed just past the post.
The Wolverines dominated the stat sheet, outshooting Cal 18-6 and earning eight corner kicks to the Golden Bears' one. Despite the pressure, Utah Valley managed just one goal.
"I feel like we left some chances out there … but I was happy with the reaction that we came back with and tied it," Utah Valley head coach Chris Lemay said.
Utah Valley's home schedule gets tougher, with Auburn, LSU and Gonzaga visiting in succession before the Wolverines travel to No. 11 BYU.
"It's going to be another battle on Monday," Lemay said. "Auburn plays in a high-level conference and they are going to be combative and athletic."
UVU men's team improves to 3-0 with shutout
Utah Valley freshman Sharif Sayawu scored the first goal of his collegiate career, and Kolby Sessions made two saves to keep the Wolverines unbeaten with a 2-0 win over Florida Gulf Coast in the first game of the doubleheader at UCCU Stadium.
Lewis Knecht, the former two-time Utah Mr. Soccer from American Fork, added a goal for the second-straight match for Utah Valley (3-0), which posted a third consecutive shutout for the first time in program history in the Wolverines' first 3-0-0 start since 2018.
Utah Valley out-shot Florida Gulf Coast, which was picked to finish second in the ASUN 5-1 before halftime and held the Eagles to just two shots on goal through 90 minutes.
"We're just flying. The team's playing good together, something like eight different goal scorers in our first three games," said junior wing back Keegan Oyler, who was named to the TopDrawerSoccer national team of the week before registering his fourth assist of the season. "It's not one person doing everything; we're clicking, and that's allowing us to show up and play well together."
The Wolverines play their first true road game of the 2025 season Sunday when they travel to Omaha. Kickoff against the Mavericks is scheduled for 4 p.m. MDT on the Summit League Network.
— Sean Walker, KSL.com
