Utah Valley Men's Soccer Wins the Big West, Its First League Title in 10 Years

Utah Valley men's soccer is the 2026 Big West regular-season champion. The Wolverines won 3-2 at Cal State Bakersfield on the night of Saturday, Oct. 31, on two goals and an assist from senior midfielder Jose Luis Martin Montealegre, and took the title outright in their first season in the conference.

It is the program's first league title in 10 years. UVU's release said its only other conference title came in 2016, when it was a member of the WAC.

"I couldn't be prouder of this group. The players bought in from day one and gave everything for each other, and tonight they earned something this program has waited ten years for," head coach Michael Chesler said after the match.

What was on the line in Bakersfield

UVU went into the final match day a point behind UC Irvine, which had already finished its league schedule with a win over UC Santa Barbara, per UVU's preview. A draw would have split the title with the Anteaters. Only a win would make it UVU's alone.

Cal State Bakersfield was no soft finish. UVU's preview listed the Roadrunners as the last unbeaten team in league play at 1-0-4, and they had won at Oregon State, then ranked No. 22, on Oct. 14. UVU arrived 9-2-3 overall and 4-1 in the Big West.

How the title was won

The first chance belonged to Bakersfield. In the sixth minute, CSUB's Joey Velasquez redirected a cross on frame from near the penalty spot, and UVU goalkeeper Jackson Medina got a hand to it to keep the game scoreless.

UVU scored in the 21st minute. Martin Montealegre settled a long ball over the top from Brayden Tester and laid it back to Nil Grau, whose cross into the six-yard box was finished by Oliver Watts for his third goal of the season. Luca Wingaa Laursen tapped in a rebound in the 35th minute that was ruled offside, and CSUB equalized two minutes later through Mpawenayo Jackson's low shot inside the right post.

Martin Montealegre put UVU back in front shortly after halftime. His first shot was blocked, and he hit the rebound first time; a deflection carried it over the goalkeeper. CSUB challenged for a handball in the UVU box in the 67th minute, and the review confirmed no violation.

In the 85th minute Medina played a long ball over the top, Martin Montealegre beat his defender to it and drove it into the right side of the net for 3-1. CSUB scored with just over a minute left from a scramble in the box, a goal first disallowed for handball and then given after a VAR review. UVU held on.

A night for Martin Montealegre

UVU's release said Martin Montealegre became the fourth player in program history with two goals and an assist in one game, and the first since Aaron Nixon against CSUN in 2021. His eight goals this season are tied for fifth-most in a season in program history, per UVU. The Big West's bracket release lists him at eight goals and four assists, with Grau at three goals and six assists.

The senior from Malaga, Spain, came to Orem from Pima Community College, where he scored 23 goals in two seasons, according to UVU. Through October he wore pink tape on his wrist inscribed "Mama," a tribute to his mother Sandra, who was declared cancer-free in December 2017 after treatment for breast cancer, UVU reported in a feature published two days before the match. He had a goal contribution in five of his six October appearances before Saturday, including the 84th-minute winner against No. 21 Oregon State on Oct. 24.

The numbers behind the season

The win made UVU 10-2-3 overall and 5-1 in the Big West, per the conference. The Big West said UVU had the league's best goal differential in conference games at plus-7, with a goals-against average of 0.80.

UVU's release listed three more marks from the night:

• It is UVU's first double-digit win season since 2019 and the fourth in program history.
• It is the seventh time since the Big West resumed sponsoring men's soccer in 2001 that one school won both the men's and women's regular-season titles. The UVU women clinched theirs outright earlier the same day.
• Before kickoff, UVU's preview said 19 different Wolverines had a goal contribution this season, one off the program record of 20 set in 2019, and UVU was receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches poll, ranked 39th in the RPI.

Earlier this fall UVU won at ranked Marshall, and this is its first season since the move from the WAC. The UVU men's soccer team page carries the full schedule and results.

Next: a rematch at UCCU Stadium

The title brings the No. 1 seed and home field in the Big West Championship. UVU hosts No. 4 seed Cal State Bakersfield, the team it just beat, in the semifinal on Saturday, Nov. 7, at 2 p.m. MT at UCCU Stadium in Orem. No. 2 UC Irvine hosts No. 3 UC Santa Barbara in the other semifinal. The final is Friday, Nov. 13, at the higher remaining seed, and the champion earns the Big West's automatic berth in the NCAA tournament, whose 48-team field is announced on Nov. 16, per the Big West. The UCCU Stadium guide covers tickets and parking.

Key facts:

• Title: 2026 Big West men's soccer regular-season champion, outright, in UVU's first Big West season
• Clincher: UVU 3, Cal State Bakersfield 2, Oct. 31, 2026, Bakersfield, Calif.
• Scorers: Oliver Watts (21'), Jose Luis Martin Montealegre (second half, 85')
• Star line: Martin Montealegre, 2 goals and 1 assist; 8 goals and 4 assists this season
• History: First conference title since the 2016 WAC title; first double-digit win season since 2019
• Record: 10-2-3, 5-1 Big West
• Coach: Michael Chesler
• Next: Big West semifinal vs. Cal State Bakersfield, Sat., Nov. 7, 2 p.m. MT, UCCU Stadium