Utah Valley University's Faith Webber has been named the Western Athletic Conference Women's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week after her stellar performances against Michigan and Detroit Mercy. Webber also earned a spot on the Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Week.
Webber played a crucial role in Utah Valley's undefeated start to the season, scoring three goals and adding an assist over the two-game stretch.
In the Wolverines' season opener, Webber notched a brace with two second-half goals, including the thrilling game-winner with just 27 seconds left on the clock, to lift UVU to a 2-1 victory over Big Ten opponent Michigan.
She followed that performance by contributing another goal in the 5-2 win over Detroit Mercy, while also assisting on the game-winning goal.
In addition, the UVU women's soccer team is gaining national recognition as the team received votes in this week's United Soccer Coaches Top 25 Poll for the fifth time in program history.
The Wolverines earned 11 votes following an impressive opening week on the road, including wins over Michigan and Detroit Mercy. This is the fourth time in the past two seasons that UVU has received votes, including three times during the 2023 campaign.
Additionally, Utah Valley is ranked second in this week's United Soccer Coaches Pacific Region poll.
The Wolverines now prepare for two home matches at UCF on Thursday at 3:30 p.m. MT and at No. 21 Virginia on Sunday at 11 a.m. MT. Both games will be broadcast on ESPN+.
Utah Valley University head coach Dan Nielson has announced the hiring of Paisley Johnson-Harding to his coaching staff. Johnson-Harding was a standout player at BYU from 2017-22 and most recently has been on staff at Timpview High School in Provo.
"I'm thrilled to add someone to our Wolverine family with the playing experience that Paisley has," said Nielson. "When I coached her in college she brought a contagious enthusiasm and passion for the game that I'm sure she'll bring each day as a coach. Paisley knows me and our system well and will be able fit in seamlessly. She will no doubt make an instant impact on our guard development and program as a whole!"
"I couldn't be more excited to be part of UVU and the women's basketball program and to start my collegiate coaching career under Dan Nielson," Johnson-Harding said. "I was privileged to be coached by him during the start of my own collegiate playing career. I'm very grateful to him for seeing the value I can add to his staff, and I'm humbled to be able to learn from this coaching staff and team. UVU is a place for everyone and I'm glad I have the opportunity to make lifelong memories with this team. Go Wolverines!"
Johnson-Harding was a four-time All-West Coast Conference selection, three of which were first-team honors during her final three seasons at BYU. She was also named the WCC Tournament MVP after leading the team to the tournament championship in 2019. Johnson-Harding was part of three NCAA Tournament teams while at BYU, where she ranks sixth in program history with 1,938 points scored and is first all-time in games played for the Cougars.
Following her collegiate career, she spent training camp with the WNBA's Seattle Storm in 2022 before playing professionally in Germany's top league for the GiroLive Panthers in Osnabrück for the 2022-23 season.
A native of Everett, Washington, she is married to former UVU men's basketball player Connor Harding. She graduated from BYU in 2022 with a degree in sociology.
Utah Valley opens the 2024 regular season with a two-game road trip to Northern California to take on Big West foes Sacramento State and UC Davis.
The Wolverines begin the 2024 campaign at Sacramento State on Thursday with a 6 p.m. MT kickoff at Hornet Field. UVU will then make the short trip west to take on the Aggies at 2 p.m. MT on Sunday. Both games will be streamed live on ESPN+, with live stats available at UVUStats.com.
Utah Valley will look to extend its impressive season opener unbeaten streak to 11 games. In the program's 10-season history, the Wolverines are an impressive 9-0-1 in season openers, outscoring opponents 24-4 in those games. Only two of those games came on the road, however, including the lone tie at Canisius in 2021.
The Wolverines return five starters from the 2023 team, including second team All-WAC honoree Omar Yehya, WAC All-Freshman team member Trevor Walk, and preseason All-WAC honoree Tom Dobek-Pietrowski. Yehya is the leading returning goal scorer and Dobek-Pietrowski is the leading returner in minutes played. In total, there are 16 returners from last year's squad.
The team brings in a plethora of new faces, with eight freshmen and nine transfers joining the squad. Among those transfers are a pair of NJCAA All-Americans in goalkeeper Ben Williams and midfielder Manuel Cordeiro. Williams was a two-time JUCO All-American at Salt Lake CC, leading the Bruins to two NJCAA Final Four berths with an impressive 0.62 goals-against average. Cordeiro spent the last two seasons at Monroe College, who were JUCO national champions both years. Cordeiro was named first team All-American following the 2023 season.
Among the eight incoming freshmen, three have had experience with an MLS academy or the MLS Next circuit. Owen Pereira and David Noguera both played in MLS Next with Lou Fusz and RSL Academy respectively, with Tyson Carter playing for both RSL Academy and Real Monarchs of the USL Championship.