Thunderbirds Drop 2-0 Decision to UC Irvine

CEDAR CITY, Utah - Sept. 15 - Southern Utah women's soccer dropped a 2-0 decision to UC Irvine on Monday afternoon. The loss keeps the Thunderbirds winless at 0-5-0, while UCI moves to 3-4-0.

"This was another tough battle today," head coach Brian Stock said. "It was a tough, physical game, but we need to have a sustained effort for an entire 90 minutes. I give a lot of credit to UCI, they took advantage of their breaks, but we need to take care of things we can control."

Irvine put the first lights on the board in the 20th minute as Milana Shabestari dribbled to the goal and flipped the ball towards the near post as SUU keeper McKenzie Hadley stepped in the other direction.

The Thunderbirds looked to tie the game with a late flurry in the 43rd minute, recording three shots in 12 seconds before the ball was eventually pushed wide of the goal. Having dodged a bullet, the Anteaters took a 1-0 lead going into half time.

UCI didn't wait long to build on its lead in the second half as Tanya Taylor collected a ball after a scrum off a corner and blasted the ball into the net from 12 yards out, making the score 2-0.

Southern Utah had a great look in the 84th minute as Laura Goodrich's volley from a corner kick was played long to Jennifer Johnson on the far post. The junior defender took a crack to the opposite post, but was denied by UCI's keeper Erica Quevedo. Quevedo was one of three keepers used by the Anteaters during the contest.

The loss is the third to a Big West Conference opponent on the year for the Thunderbirds, despite narrowly trailing in shots during the game, 13 to 12. SUU senior Erica Berlin led the T-Birds in shots with three.

Southern Utah will look to snap out of its slow start when the Thunderbirds host their third game in a five-game home stand against UT San Antonio, Saturday at Noon.

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Players Mentioned

#8 Erica Berlin: F; 5' 3"; Senior

#6 Laura Goodrich: MF; 5' 7"; Junior

#4 McKenzie Hadley: F; 5' 6"; Freshman

#17 Jennifer Johnson: D; 5' 8"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#8 Erica Berlin
: 5' 3"; Senior
: F

#6 Laura Goodrich
: 5' 7"; Junior
: MF

#4 McKenzie Hadley
: 5' 6"; Freshman
: F

#17 Jennifer Johnson
: 5' 8"; Junior
: D