With four games remaining in the regular season, the Southern Utah University women’s soccer team has already set a new program record for wins in a single season.
In 2015, the win record was set at eight and hadn’t been touched in the six seasons since. The 2-0 win against the Sam Houston State University Bearkats on Oct. 9 marked their ninth victory this year, officially making 2022 the best season the Thunderbirds have ever had.
The single-season win record is just one of many that have been broken this season. As far as team records go, at least four others have been surpassed, with most goals in a game being the first to go. Previously set at eight, the Thunderbirds topped it when they scored 10 goals against Mississippi Valley State University on Aug. 19.
The team had their longest winning streak this year as well. Spanning from Aug. 18 to Sep. 2, they won five games in a row, beating the previous record of four.
Still with a handful of games to go, Southern Utah has already beaten their personal bests for total goals in a season and total shutouts in a season, which were surpassed in their 2-0 win on Oct. 9. The new records are currently 30 and seven, respectively, with four games left to add to that total..
SUU has also made their way onto national rankings in a number of categories. As a team, they are ranked 35th in total goals, 31st in assists per game, 19th in goals against average, and third in save percentage.
Goalkeeper Megan Short has had a very impressive season on her own. She currently ranks sixth nationally in save percentage. Despite only being a redshirt sophomore, she has reached fourth on the Thunderbirds’ all-time career save list.
Similarly, junior transfer Kate Schirmer has crept into the top 10 in both career goals and assists. She ranks third in goals and assists for the team this year, including one game-winning goal.
This year has been an astounding improvement over the 2021 season and an excellent first semester of Western Athletic Conference play. SUU ended with a win-loss-tie record of 2-13-2, incomparable to their current 9-3-1. They ranked 10th out of 10 teams in the Big Sky Conference. They were outscored by opponents 30-10 and were shutout eight times. No player had more than two goals or two assists, while this year, five players have scored three or more. The goalkeepers had a save percentage of just .778 as compared to the current .893.
Southern Utah is in fifth place in the WAC standings. Four of their nine wins have come against conference opponents. Only six teams will make it into the WAC tournament. The Thunderbirds have not competed in a conference tournament since 2008 when they were in The Summit League.
The final four games of the regular season will be against California Baptist University, Grand Canyon University, Utah Valley University, and Seattle University.
Story by: Anden Garfield
sports@suunews.net
Photos by: Anden Garfield
