After a promising week, the Southern Utah University women’s soccer team starts the season’s last road trip to face Utah Valley University on Thursday, Oct. 23, at 6 p.m. Following that game, SUU will face California Baptist University on Sunday, Oct. 26, at 6 p.m.
Both games can be streamed live on ESPN+.
Southern Utah
The T-Birds enter the week 3-9-3 on the year and 2-4-1 in the Western Athletic Conference. Although the record isn’t what they envisioned, Southern Utah went 1-0-1 last week and currently sit fourth in the WAC.
SUU will need to rely on their offense when they face the two top teams in the WAC. The Thunderbirds are averaging 0.87 goals a game, ranking last in the conference. Senior forward Sarah Assumma has been the top goal scorer for SUU with four on the year.
Defensively, SUU struggled in their two games against Utah Valley and California Baptist earlier this season. UVU scored three goals against the T-Birds and CBU scored one goal.
Utah Valley
The Wolverines begin the week as the top team in the WAC. UVU is 9-4-2 on the season and 5-0-1 in conference play. Utah Valley has been propelled by one of the best offenses in the nation.
The UVU attack has been led by Ruby Hladek and Faith Webber. Both Hladek and Webber have scored 10 goals on the year. Hladek leads the team with eight assists and is second on the team with 1,143 minutes played.
In front of the net, Leah Wolf has been the main goalkeeper for Utah Valley. Wolf has started all 15 games, recording 63 saves and allowing 21 goals.
California Baptist
The Lancers continue to play at a high level. CBU is 8-7-1 on the year and 4-2 in the WAC. They’ve been their best at home, posting a 5-2 record when playing at CBU Soccer Stadium.
California Baptist is a balanced team, excelling on offense and defense. CBU ranks No. 3 in the WAC in goals allowed, giving up 1.44 goals a game, and they average 1.19 goals scored per game.
Ava Westlund leads this CBU squad with seven goals and 16 total points this season. Westlund also has 22 shots on goal, 11 more than any other Lancer.
Author: Jack Paul
Photographer: Gannon Lovisa
Editor: Payson Davis
