By Larry Larkin (@larrylarkinsjsu) – Spear Reporter | Sophomore defenseman Ruben Flores-Thomas prepares to throw the ball in (photo by Iber Moreno – Spear Photographer)
Following a fifth-place finish in the Western Athletic Conference, No. 5 seed San Jose State men’s soccer (4-7-7, 3-3-3 WAC) will play in the first round of the WAC Tournament at GCU Stadium in Phoenix, Ariz. where it will take on No. 4 seed Utah Valley (8-5-4, 3-3-2 WAC).
Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. Sunday.
SJSU clinched a spot in the WAC Tournament thanks to a 0-0 tie against UT Rio Grande Valley in the final game of regular season conference play Sunday.
Utah Valley also clinched a spot in the WAC Tournament in the final game of regular season conference play with a 1-0 win over California Baptist on Sunday.
The Spartans beat the Wolverines 3-2 in Orem, Utah on Oct. 5 in a game the Spartans overcame a 2-0 deficit.
Utah Valley enters the match on a four-game unbeaten streak with one tie.
Junior midfielder Angel Iniguez leads SJSU on the season in goals scored with seven and points with 21. He’s the team’s only player with double-digit points this season.
Iniguez is the WAC’s third-leading goal scorer this season and was named the WAC Offensive Player of the Year, the first player in SJSU history to win the award.
The Spartans’ second-leading goal scorer, junior forward Diogo Baptista, has three.
Utah Valley’s leading goal scorer, senior forward Omar Yehya, has scored 12 goals this season. He also leads the WAC in goals this season.
The Wolverines’ second-leading goal scorer, freshman midfielder Isaac Emojong, has four.
For SJSU, junior goalkeeper Ronin Axelson is coming off back-to-back shutouts in just his third career college start.
Utah Valley goalkeeper Ben Williams ranks third in the WAC in shutouts.
