UMass Minutemen Come to Play at the Base of Utah's Wasatch Mountains

So, the men’s regular season kicks off tomorrow, Saturday, August 30 at 7:30 p.m. against the University of Massachusetts, a collegiate program with a long winning tradition. When the opening whistle blows it will signal something new and unique in the state of Utah, but the team, the game, and the behind-the-scene stories have largely been ignored by the local media. Too bad all the professional reporters are so overwhelmed with other matters, they are missing out on something special.

It’s not easy to initiate and build a program at the Division I level, in any sport. A brand new team, with a preponderance of freshman athletes would typically have a very difficult time competing. Even if the recruiting class was exceptional, there would be growing pains, especially in first few years.

It’s not easy to build a schedule either. The first year out of the gate there is no track record, no early season out-of-conference rivalry, no program-to-program networking. So why would UMass come all the way out west to Utah’s high desert plateau to play UVU on the Wolverine home field? It happened because of the personal relationship the UVU coaches, Greg Maas and Matt Ellinger had with Sam Koch, the former UMass head coach.

Koch had garnered 222 wins in Amherst, Massachusetts during a 23 year career, in which his Minutemen won the Atlantic 10 Conference ten times, and went to the NCAA tournament three times. He was diagnosed with cancer three years ago, and had bravely waged his own personal battle with the disease with dignity and class. “He was very excited about the match here in Orem,” said coach Maas, “he was looking forward to helping us begin this new era in Utah at our inaugural home game.” Coach Maas added, “Things were getting difficult for him, Sam told me that at this point, he had just one goal left in life and that was 'to see this match and those beautiful mountains you have there in Utah.”

Sam Koch lost his opportunity to see the match and the mountains when he lost his struggle with cancer earlier this year on July 20. He had been the winningest coach in UMASS history.

The match Saturday evening is one that both teams will want to win. The Minutemen will want to win for the coach who arranged the match, and because they have a winning tradition. The Wolverines will want to win because they want, in the worst way, a “W” attached to their first-ever home game. During the game tomorrow, the team in green will wear black armbands to honor Sam Koch. The game obviously has significant meaning to our university and to the state of Utah, but it’s also being played to pay homage to a man that devoted his career to the sport of soccer and to the development of the young men he mentored. Players, coaches, and fans also pay tribute to him and thank him for becoming a friend of UVU Soccer by simply scheduling his team to play here.

The Season Is Finally Here

I’ve been looking forward to today for a long time – since the announcement that a Division I Men’s Soccer team was coming to UVU almost two years ago. The WAC published its Men’s 2014 Soccer Preview today, and although I have been following the progress of the team as a coach was hired and the players recruited, the fact that the conference has posted the season schedule for all Western Athletic Conference teams, makes it all feel a little more concrete.

Of course, out of ten teams in the WAC Conference (soccer has a number of affiliates), the UVU Wolverines were picked by the coaches to finish last. That’s ok. I’m a fan, and I don’t believe they are going to finish last. Trying hard not to expect too much, I remind myself often that the team has very little actual game experience. Most of our players are freshmen – there’s only one senior, and he couldn’t have played his collegiate soccer here in Utah, because we didn’t have a team anywhere in the state until now. On top of that, they just lost their only exhibition game to a DII school. The guys are going to have to learn how to play together - they are also going to have to learn to be tough both physically and mentally. We don't have that yet.

So, where will this side finish in the WAC mix? I don’t know – but they are my team now, so I have high hopes, and lofty expectations. Just the kind of thing a fan does. I am expecting them to make the WAC post-season tournament, and only the top six teams play there, so they can’t finish below sixth place, that just can't happen.

Coach Greg Maas, from his WAC Preview video post

Utah’s first Division I men’s soccer game kicks off this Saturday when the Wolverines play host to UMASS. I have purchased 3 season tickets and a few more single game tickets for this, the inaugural game. My group is planning to arrive sometime around 3:00 for a 7:30 kickoff, and we’re bringing our tailgating gear. I’m looking forward to grilling burgers, playing fútsol, and generally making it a day to remember. I’m dreaming of a 3 – nil contest in favor of the team in green, even though that little logical voice inside my head keeps reminding me that UMASS has been playing for a long time, and it’s our first game. Still, wouldn’t it be fun if we were competitive? If the score was tied coming down the stretch and the last ten minutes turned into one of those amazing tension-filled experiences that seem to be so unique to soccer - wouldn't that be great?

I can actually envision it unfold in my mind’s eye: The score is 1 – 1, there is just a minute left in extra time, and a penalty kick is awarded to the UMASS side. Moans and groans from the crowd, even though it was a clear takedown in the box. The ball is placed at the spot, the striker approaches but our keeper reads the try and saves the penalty pushing the ball out to the wing where it is taken by a Wolverine fullback, played up the wing, carried through the midfield and into the attacking third. A sharp low cross finds the head of our center forward who puts the ball just past the Minuteman keeper's fingertips and into the back of the net. Goal scored, the whistle blows, we all go home ecstatic about the match we have just witnessed.

Win, loose or draw, the Wolverine soccer teams – both the men and the women – are my teams. As a fan, I get to be part of them. I get to dream about picture-perfect seasons and don’t have to be too realistic about any of it right now. It’s going to be a great season, and a terrific weekend!

Here is a good article about UVU Men's Soccer, and the story of its beginning.

A Great Time to be a Soccer Fan in Utah

There was a time, just a few years back, when Major League Soccer was purchasing airtime from local and regional TV networks to broadcast its games. The hope was that the fledgling league would be able to lure enough fans away from football, basketball, baseball, or hockey to build a small fan base. Media executives were hesitant, asked pressing questions, “How long is this league going to last anyway? Or even, “Is soccer ever going to take off – is it really possible to make a dent in the American sports landscape?”

Soccer no longer has to recruit fans from other sports, they have managed in the last decade to build their own fan base.  Now, NBC is televising the English Premiere League; ESPN, Fox Sports, and Univision have announced a one-of-a-kind eight-year deal with MLS and U.S.A. Soccer, reportedly worth $90 million a year to carry the league’s game. The World Cup had record-breaking viewership in the U.S., RSL is filling the Riot for every game and has announced the formation of a minor league team to play in a stadium to be built in Salt Lake’s Fair Park. And, in Utah County, as the billboards on I-15 attest: Fútbol is here, at Utah Valley University.

This fall, UVU unrolls its newest athletic addition, men’s soccer, at a great time for the university, and for the region. Some will voice disappointment that its fútbol – and not football, but, with its new soccer program UVU gets exclusivity - this is athletic territory the Wolverines don’t have to share with anybody. Utah has long had one of the strongest young soccer player development programs in the country. And now, those home grown all stars with a mix of players from around the country, and a few international recruits, will wear Wolverine Green.

UVU will bring a solid NCAA Division 1 team to Utah County. Coaches Greg Maas and Matt Ellinger have done a great job building a team, which has the potential to be competitive in its first year out of the gate. "Imagine if there was only one college football team in the state how talented they'd be," Ellinger said. "That's the level we aim to be. Merge Utah State, Utah, and BYU's football teams together and tell me they wouldn't be top 10." From KSL Sports [April 2014].

Initially, there was to have been an exhibition match against RSL reserves on August 18^th to kickoff the season, that has been changed to a Green -v- White match on the 19^th, which is part of a UVU meet the team night, beginning at 6:00 pm.

The season begins in earnest with an exhibition game on Sept 23 against Northwest Nazarene in Nampa Idaho, and its first official game against UMASS on Saturday August the 30^th at 7:30 pm. It is interesting that this game has been chosen by NSCAA TV as its first national broadcast of the 2014 College Soccer Season.  NSCAA Article [For details concerning college soccer broadcasts].

Two weeks later, on Friday September 12, UVU will cap off Homecoming Week with a game against Gonzaga University at 7:30 pm. "Every time we step on the field, it's something historical in nature," said head coach Greg Maas. If you’re a fan of the “beautiful game” you’ll want to witness all this history. If you’re unfamiliar with game, you are invited to come, learn its dynamics first hand and find out why this is the world’s most popular sport. Get your green on – summertime is coming to a close, it’s time go watch Utah’s only Division 1 Men’s Soccer Team in their inaugural year.

The 2014 Season Printable Schedule.