After a lukewarm non-conference slate of games, the Southern Utah University soccer team is returning home to Cedar City, Utah, to begin their Big Sky schedule. The team will welcome the University of Montana on Thursday, Oct. 1, at 4 p.m. before facing Portland State University on Sunday, Oct. 4, at 11 a.m. Both games will be at the Thunderbird Soccer Field and can also be streamed live on ESPN+.
Southern Utah
SUU holds a 3-5-1 record this year and has already matched their win total from last season. They went 3-12-3 in that year. This will be the team’s first Big Sky game since 2021, a season where they had an even worse 2-13-2 record.
“We have been looking forward to getting into Big Sky play, and having the opportunity to open conference play at home makes it even more exciting,” said head soccer coach Steven Lindquist. “Montana and Portland State will both present different challenges, and we know the intensity goes up when conference play begins. Our focus is continuing to build on the things we’ve done well, learning from the non-conference portion of our schedule and competing for each other for 90 minutes.”
Besides their 18-0 win against Justice University, a small private Christian school not in the NCAA, Southern Utah hasn’t recorded a win since Aug. 17. They’ve only had one game this year where they scored more than one goal, besides the aforementioned match versus Justice. That was their 2-2 tie against California State University, Northridge.
Southern Utah has been a disciplined team this year. They have committed the fewest fouls of any Big Sky team despite leading the conference in offsides violations.
Montana
The Grizzlies hold a 2-6 record this year and have lost their last three matches in a row. They were outscored 9-1 over those three games, which included a 4-0 loss to Gonzaga University.
Montana’s two wins this season have come against Lethbridge University, a small school in Alberta, Canada, and Montana State University Billings, an NCAA Division Two member. After playing to an 11-4-5 record last season, which won them the regular season and tournament championship in the Big Sky, the Lady Griz have had a disappointing start to the season.
The Grizzlies actually won the last three Big Sky regular season championships in a row and hold the rights to host the Big Sky women’s soccer tournament championship game this year. It remains to be seen if this once-proud program can turn their fortunes around in conference play.
All but one of Montana’s goals were scored in their back-to-back wins against non-Division One opponents. Elli Lewis has two goals this year while freshman Grace Morton, Liv Thorne-Thomsen and Megan Wilson-Sofield each have one. Thorne-Thomsen has the team’s only recorded assist this season.
Portland State
Like Montana, PSU is one of the only Big Sky teams with a worse record than SUU. They’re coming into this match with a 2-7 record, but won their most recent game against the University of San Diego.
Their only other win was a 3-2 result against Western Oregon University, a Division Two program. Besides that match, the Vikings have only scored two goals all year and were held scoreless through their first four games.
Aliayha Saldana has scored three of Portland State’s five goals this year. The other two came from Camilla Contreras Bran and Yamille Picon. PSU’s goalkeeper, Finley Crabtree, will be a name to watch in this match. She’s started every game for the Vikings and has 41 saves while sitting out for just 31 minutes all season.
Game info
SUU will face Montana on Thursday, Oct. 1, at 4 p.m. They’ll then take on Portland State on Sunday, Oct. 4, at 11 a.m. Both games will be at the Thunderbird Soccer Field in Cedar City, Utah, and can be streamed live on ESPN+.
SUU has faced Montana 11 times. The Thunderbirds have forced a tie four times but have never beaten the Grizzlies. Their last tie came in 2019.
The T-Birds and Vikings have faced off 11 times as well. SUU holds a 3-6-2 record against Portland State. They defeated PSU for the first time since 2016 in the team’s last matchup just last year.
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Author: Payson Davis
Photograph by SUU Athletics
Editor: Charlee Steed
