Playing the Villain: Top five road wins of all time for SUU athletics

Throughout its history, Southern Utah University athletics has had buzzer-beating wins, elite individual performances, record-breaking games and significant rivalries. When playing at home, Thunderbird athletes get to play heroes. On the road, it’s a different story where many athletes thrive playing villains. These top five road wins are great examples of star athletes stepping up and becoming the villain.

Honorable mentions

Football defeats Cowboys 85-0
On Sept. 7, 1968, while playing in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, the Thunderbirds put up a whopping 85 points on the road against New Mexico Highlands University. In a lopsided bout, SUU secured a school record in points scored as well as margin of victory.

Women’s volleyball takes down Southeastern Conference foe
In a season where the Thunderbirds went 15-15, they were able to muster a big-time win. On Aug. 29, 2015, Southern Utah went to Starkville and swept Mississippi State University. SUU got a big-time contribution by then senior Madi Forsythe. She tallied 11 kills on 24 attempts to help pull off the upset.

Softball gets a tough win over the Cougars in Provo
On April 5, 2016, softball was able to pull off their second-ever win against Brigham Young University 6-5. The Thunderbirds got a boost from Kendall Kapitzke’s three-run homer in the seventh that helped secure the win.

Horns down: Women’s soccer defeats Big-12 team
In a season where the Thunderbirds went 2-17, one of their wins was surprisingly over a Big-12 school that would make the year’s postseason tournament. On Sunday, Oct. 26, 2003, Southern Utah traveled to Austin and defeated the Longhorns 3-1.

No. 5: Softball gets their first-ever win against BYU
After losing their first 23 matchups against the Cougars, SUU finally pulled off a win on April 16, 2015. The Thunderbirds snapped Brigham Young University’s 10-game winning streak in a decisive 11-8 game. SUU’s Sara Park led the way with five RBIs. This included a game-winning grand slam at the top of the seventh to put the Thunderbirds up for good.

No. 4: Football takes down UNLV for first win against an FBS opponent
On Sept. 24, 2011, the Thunderbirds pulled off one of the biggest upsets in school history. Going into the matchup with the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, SUU had never beaten a Football Bowl Subdivision opponent. Not only did they win, they dominated. SUU capitalized off many Rebel miscues and took the game 41-16.

No. 3: Gymnastics dominates three elite opponents
On March 7, 2003, the Flippin’ Birds went to Provo and overpowered their matchup. They took down rival Brigham Young University (No. 24), Central Michigan University (No. 25) and rival Utah State University (No. 27). The Flippin’ Birds put up an impressive 195.875 points to secure the victory.

No. 2: Men’s basketball takes down Utah en route to an eventual tournament bid
The 2000-01 Thunderbird squad was special. They finished the season with a 25-6 record, including a No. 14 seed in the NCAA Tournament. A defining win that season was against the University of Utah Utes. The Thunderbirds took down their in-state competition 77-70 behind 20 points from Dan Beus and 17 from Fred House. From that game on, SUU went 17-2 before their defeat in the Round of 64 matchup against Boston College.

No. 1: Women’s basketball takes down Colorado State
On March 20, 2014, the Thunderbirds traveled to Fort Collins and dominated Colorado State University 71-56. In their first-ever Women’s National Invitational Tournament, they pulled off the upset over the Rams. SUU’s Hailey Mandelko led the team with 19 points, six rebounds and three steals. The Thunderbirds lost their next WNIT game against the University of Colorado, Boulder, and finished the season with a 23-10 record.