Who | Utah Tech (5-4, 1-0) vs Utah Valley (1-5-4, 0-1-1) / San Jose State (4-3-4, 1-0-1)
When | Thursday, Oct. 5 – 7 p.m. / Sunday, Oct. 8 – 1:30 p.m.
Where | Greater Zion Stadium
Social Media | Instagram + Twitter (X) + #UtahTechBlazers

Scouting the Competition:
Utah Valley holds a two-win advantage in the all-time series, having beaten the Trailblazers by a combined score of 3-1 across meetings in 2021 and 2022. Traedon Chamberlain was credited with an assist in the last game played at Greater Zion, a 2-1 Wolverine win.
 
This year, UVU is 1-5-4 and is coming off an 0-1-1 start to WAC play after falling to No. 23 Seattle U before playing San Jose State to a 1-1 draw. Omar Yehya and Michele Signorelli lead the team with three goals apiece while three different goalkeepers have combined to make 25 saves across 10 games.
 
Against San Jose State, Utah Tech is 0-3 all-time; the last time SJSU came to St. George, current Trailblazers Julian Herrera and AJ Ciampini started while Bryce Backlund came off the bench.
 
The Spartans currently hold a 4-3-4 record and are coming off an unbeaten start to conference play, defeating Air Force 1-0 before playing Utah Valley to a 1-1 draw. Angel Iniguez leads the team with four goals and five assists while Gaku Nishimura ranks second on the team with four assists.
 
Player of the Week
For the second time this season, Stockton Short was named the TicketSmarter WAC Men's Soccer Goalkeeper of the Week. Short started and played all 90 minutes in Utah Tech's lone game of the weekend, making five saves in a shutout road victory over UTRGV on Sunday. The Pleasant View, Utah, native posted a perfect save percentage in 12 shots faced while completing his second shutout of the 2023 campaign in the process.
 
Through nine games this season, Short has established himself among the WAC's elite shot stoppers. Ranking second in the conference with 35 saves and fourth with 3.9 saves per game, he now leads the conference in save percentage (.795) and has the lowest goals against average, holding opposing attacks to just one goal per game.  Having posted two shutouts this season, Short is one of just three goalkeepers in the entire conference to record two or more clean sheets.
 
Road Victories
Utah Tech earned its fifth victory of the season and second in as many games against UTRGV on Sunday, defeating the Vaqueros 1-0 on the road. Sami Cuevas scored his second goal in as many games as the team finished with a 6-5 advantage in shots on goal.
 
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Trailblazer men's soccer has won three of its last four games, with a lone defeat to then-ranked No. 21 San Diego State and victories over Gonzaga, UC San Diego, and UTRGV. Across those three victories, UT has out-scored opponents 5-2 while Short has finished with an average of four saves per game while stopping over 76% of the shots he's faced.
 
Momentum
Just one week after scoring the first of two goals in a 2-1 victory over UC San Diego, Sami Cuevas struck again for his second goal of the season and first career game-winner against UTRGV on Sunday. Cuevas has been among the conference's most aggressive strikers this season, currently sitting in third place among WAC attackers with 2.67 shots per game.
 
Future's Bright
After welcoming several new faces to the program during the offseason, Utah Tech has had several underclassmen step up in a big way this season. Among the 14 Trailblazers to play at least 250 minutes this season, eight are in their first two years of collegiate soccer; that list includes Stockton Short, Sami Cuevas, Abigay Gomez, Anthony Godinez, Jerod Allen, Austin Wallace, Miguel Regino and Oliver Stone.
 
How They Rank in the WAC
Sami Cuevas is tied for third in total shots (24) while holding sole possession of third in shots per game at 2.67… Damian Arguello's 1.78 shots per game is tied for 10th… Stockton Short is one of just three goalkeepers to record two shutouts this season while ranking second in saves (35), fourth in saves per game (3.9) and leading the conference in both save percentage (.795) and goals against average (1.0)… Jimi Villasenor ranks 8th among active WAC players with 49 career shots.
 
The Home Stretch
Utah Tech has just three weekends of regular season play remaining after this week, playing three games on the road and two at home. It starts with an Oct. 12 Road matchup against UNLV before hosting Air Force at 1:30 p.m. on Oct. 15, then continues at Grand Canyon (Oct. 19, 8 p.m.) and California Baptist (Oct. 22). The regular season concludes on Oct. 26 at home when the Trailblazers will host Seattle U at 7 p.m.