A storm has been brewing south of Real Salt Lake’s home at Rio Tinto Stadium and this week a lot more people will take notice as Utah Valley University heads into the NCAA Tournament on Thursday against Southern Methodist University in just the second year of soccer for the Orem, Utah, school.
Under the guidance of Head Coach Greg Maas, the Wolverines posted a 9-7-2 in the program’s inaugural season in 2014. Now after running a 14-5-2 record this season, UVU is among the top 48 programs in the country that are vying for the College Cup title. With the rapid growth of Utah Valley has also come a burgeoning relationship with RSL and the Real Monarchs
“It’s fantastic and the better that UVU gets, the better the opponents they will travel to play and the better the opponents that will travel here,” said RSL General Manager Craig Waibel, who himself was an assistant coach at the University of Washington and operated in the shadow of the Seattle Sounders for two seasons before coming to Salt Lake as an assistant coach before the 2014 season. “They’ve been doing a great job and it’s always fun when you see success happen so quickly. To be in soccer in a state that’s pretty soccer savvy and pretty soccer crazy, it’s nice to see UVU put it together so fast.”
With a mix of players from in and out of state, UVU has found a good composite to build success on the NCAA front while still maintaining a strong connection to the local community. That includes strong ties with the two local pro clubs.
While it is beneficial to RSL to be able to scout a local college that not only has strong players of its own, it also provides an opportunity to get a look at the strong competitors that UVU brings to the area.
That relationship runs both ways, too, as Wolverines players have utilized the Monarchs to provide training opportunities during the off months in the NCAA calendar.
“My relationship with Jeff Cassar is fantastic both on and off of the field. We talk regularly, I’m familiar with his staff and we try to stay in regular communication,” Maas said. “Our relationship with Freddy Juarez and the Monarchs is instrumental for our players to have opportunities to train outside of our season and garner the ability to further develop in a professional environment that is going to help them down the road.”
Right now, the Wolverines roster features just one player from the highly-touted and successful Real Salt Lake-Arizona Academy in midfielder Lucas Cawley. However, as the program continues to build, so too will the relationship with RSL’s youth system. Already players like McKay Eves and Alec Felix have expressed interest in attending UVU in the coming years and that list will only grow as the Wolverines become more visible on the local and national levels.
For Maas, bringing players in from the RSL Academy in Casa Grande, Arizona, which has produced professional players at a tremendous rate including five players with Real Salt Lake and several others that appeared for the Monarchs this season, is a benefit as he has players that are further along in the development process and can more readily adapt at the college level and enhance team on the field.
“They are players that are trusted. We know that the culture and the environment that they are developing under is going to help them get to the next level and we hope to further that opportunity,” Maas said.
Utah Valley University will meet SMU on Thursday at 6 p.m. MT with the winner advancing to face Denver in the second round.
