Southern Utah’s Women Soccer kicks off their home Big Sky Conference matchups on Friday, Oct. 10 hosting the University of Northern Colorado and continues play against the University of Montana on Sunday, Oct. 13. Both Northern Colorado and Montana have yet to be defeated in conference play, while SUU is still reaching for their first win of the season.
SUU has struggled to generate goals on offense while both of their opponents have scored at high rates. For the season, the Thunderbirds sit with an average of 0.45 goals per matchup while the Bears have averaged 1.00 goal each game.
On the defensive side, SUU gives up nearly a goal more than UNC each game. SUU opponents have averaged 2.91 goals a game, while UNC opponents hit the net twice a game.
On Sunday, the Grizzlies will travel from Montana to Cedar City for their matchup at the Thunderbird Soccer Pitch. Montana has already tied twice in their season but are coming off of three victories against Big Sky opponents Idaho, Weber, and Idaho State.
Defensively, Montana opponents average 1.08 goals in each matchup, though the average drops to 0.58 goals a game when a 6-0 loss to Washington State is taken out of the equation.
Despite the averages, the Thunderbirds will lean on senior MaKenzie Lawrence to carry the team. She leads the team with 4 of the team’s 5 goals in the season with 2 goals against Portland State.
SUU goalkeepers have also been active this season with a total of 81 saves, with Brianna Aldridge leading the team with 42, good for a 70% save rate.
Both matchups will be local in Cedar City. Friday’s game against UNC will kick off at 4 p.m. and Sunday’s match has a start time of 1 p.m.
Story by: Tomas D’Anella
tdanella73@gmail.com
Photo Courtesy of: SUU Soccer on Twitter
