Down 2-0 at Halftime, Utah Valley Scored Five and Won the Big West Outright at 9-0-2

Utah Valley women's soccer trailed CSUN 2-0 at halftime in Northridge, Calif., on Saturday afternoon, Oct. 31. It scored five unanswered goals in the second half, won 5-2, and finished its first season in the Big West unbeaten at 9-0-2 as the outright regular-season champion.

Senior Josie Clawson scored twice. Senior Nixan Jackson scored once and assisted once, and that assist was the 32nd of her career, tying former Wolverine Ruby Hladek (2023-25) for the most in program history, UVU reported. Hladek now plays for Seattle Reign FC in the NWSL.

"I'm proud of the team. I'm proud of the players. I'm proud of their resiliency, their consistency," head coach Chris Lemay said. "To win a conference with 12 teams in it and a lot of quality teams, that's the biggest testament, that we were capable of being consistent."

Five straight conference titles

UVU had clinched at least a share of the title on Wednesday, Oct. 28, with a 2-0 home win over Long Beach State, on goals from Jackson and Sadie Beardall. Saturday made it outright.

It is UVU's fifth consecutive conference regular-season championship, after four straight Western Athletic Conference titles from 2022 to 2025, and its sixth in program history, per UVU. The Wolverines were picked fourth in the Big West's preseason coaches' poll. They have not lost a regular-season conference match since Oct. 8, 2022, at Seattle U, and Saturday ran that unbeaten streak to 43 matches, UVU said.

The Big West debut preview set out how UVU arrived from the WAC. UVU finished the regular season with a league-best 29 points.

How the comeback happened

CSUN led 2-0 at the break. UVU freshman goalkeeper Madeleine Boucher had kept the deficit from growing in the 19th minute, diving left to save a penalty kick. She finished with six saves.

The comeback started in the 51st minute. Quinn Rustand picked up the ball near the top of the box and found Jackson on the right, and Jackson beat a defender and scored with her left foot to make it 2-1.

In the 63rd minute Rustand carried through midfield to Beardall, who moved it left to Addie Olson in the box. Olson cut past a defender and scored to tie it 2-2.

UVU led for the first time in the 71st minute. Olson dribbled past a defender and slipped a pass to Clawson just inside the area, and Clawson turned and finished left-footed for 3-2.

The record-tying assist came in the 80th minute. Rustand, Beardall, Clawson and Olson moved the ball into the box, Olson crossed toward the far end line, Jackson kept it in play and turned it back to Clawson, and Clawson scored her second for 4-2.

Senior defender Mia Owens added the fifth in the 90th minute, running onto a lead pass from Clawson and finishing with her left foot.

UVU outshot CSUN 23-13, 12-8 on target, and won corners 8-6. Jackson had a team-high five shots; Clawson, Rustand and Olson had four each.

The streaks UVU takes into November

The win made UVU 13-4-3 overall, per UVU. It has won seven straight and is unbeaten in 12. Boucher, a freshman, had six individual shutouts through Oct. 28, and senior Jacey Wood was named the IWSOC Goal of the Week for her 82nd-minute goal in the 4-0 win at UC Santa Barbara on Oct. 24.

UVU has also held the No. 1 spot in the United Soccer Coaches West Region rankings, the school reported in late October. The same day, UVU men's soccer won the Big West men's title, the seventh time since 2001 that one school has won both regular-season titles, UVU said.

Next: a home semifinal on Nov. 7

As the No. 1 seed, UVU has a first-round bye and home field for the whole Big West Championship as long as it keeps winning, a format new this season in which the higher seed hosts every round. It plays the winner of No. 4 California Baptist and No. 5 Cal Poly, who meet Wednesday, Nov. 4, in Riverside, Calif., in the semifinal on Saturday, Nov. 7, at 6 p.m. MT at UCCU Stadium in Orem, on ESPN+.

No. 2 UC San Diego hosts the other semifinal. The final is Saturday, Nov. 14, at the highest remaining seed, and the winner takes the Big West's automatic berth in the NCAA tournament, per UVU. The UCCU Stadium guide has tickets and parking, and the UVU women's soccer team page has the full schedule.

Key facts:

• Title: 2026 Big West women's soccer regular-season champion, outright, in UVU's first Big West season
• Clincher: UVU 5, CSUN 2, Oct. 31, 2026, Matador Soccer Field, Northridge, Calif.; UVU trailed 2-0 at halftime
• Scorers: Nixan Jackson (51'), Addie Olson (63'), Josie Clawson (71', 80'), Mia Owens (90')
• Record set: Nixan Jackson's 32nd career assist ties Ruby Hladek's program record
• Streaks: Fifth straight conference regular-season title; 43 straight regular-season conference matches unbeaten
• Record: 13-4-3 overall, 9-0-2 Big West, 29 points
• Coach: Chris Lemay
• Next: Big West semifinal, No. 1 seed UVU vs. Cal Baptist/Cal Poly winner, Sat., Nov. 7, 6 p.m. MT, UCCU Stadium