In their ninth match of the season, the Southern Utah University soccer team endured their fifth loss. The 3-2 defeat against Idaho State University puts the Thunderbirds at 0-5-4 on the season.
All the scoring took place in the second half, with the Bengals landing the first punch. Kaylyn Buchanan scored the first goal for Idaho State less than three minutes into the second half, assisted by Rachel Fullmer. It did not take long for the Bengals to take advantage of the momentum as Callie Kitagawa-Mullen scored another goal just a little over eight minutes later.
The Thunderbirds would not back down without a fight, and defender Jenna Grider found herself heading the ball into the net for her first career goal and the first SUU score of the night. The glory of Grider’s goal was cut short when, seven minutes later, Mary Za capitalized on a penalty kick opportunity to put Idaho State up 3-1. SUU managed to score once more with a Whitney Gardner goal off a Sammie Sofonia assist, but the Thunderbirds were unable to come back all the way.
What’s next?
SUU soccer will now set their sights on Utah Tech University for a Sept. 22 matchup. The first game of conference play will be hosted by Utah Tech at 5 p.m. and can be streamed on ESPN+.
Story and photo by: Anden Garfield
sports@suunews.net
