Southern Utah Remains Undefeated Against Western Illinois in Cedar City with 3-2 Victory

CEDAR CITY, Utah - Sept. 25 - Southern Utah University ran its home winning streak against Western Illinois to 4-0-0 as the Thunderbirds posted a 3-2 victory over the Westerwinds on the soccer pitch Thursday evening. The win is the second straight for the T-Birds, moving their record to 2-5-0, while WIU drops to 3-3-2.

"We played extremely well, extremely hard and extremely smart today," head coach Brian Stock said after the match. "It was a great team effort and you could see it in each of our players' eyes that they wanted to get it done."

The scoring began for the Thunderbirds in the 7th minute when Shaley Ipson-Allen broke the all-time career points mark with a shot that passed in front of the goal at a sharp angle, but found the back of the net. Fellow senior Erica Berlin was credited with the assist.

Western Illinois tied the game in the 25th minute as Ashley Hoch took a Jennifer Green pass from the corner and blasted the ball into the goal. The 1-1 score would extend through the half.

Southern Utah broke through early in the second half as Erin Marble recorded one of her two goals of the evening on a header. The ball was played in by Ipson-Allen, adding to her record-setting night.

Marble's second goal, ultimately the game winner, came in the 76th minute as her strike from 22 yards bent into the top far post. Freshman Riley Bassett was credited with the assist.

Western Illinois recorded its final goal of the game in the 76th minute as Andrea Cain out-muscled SUU keeper Sutton Fox to find the back of the net on a ball that was bouncing around the six-yard box.

Southern Utah just missed a fourth scoring opportunity on the ensuing kick-off as Kristen Fronk's shot from the center hash was fisted away from the top corner, resulting in a corner kick for the T-Birds.

SUU out shot Western Illinois 24-14 during the game with Fox playing a full 90 minutes in her first action in two weeks.

The Thunderbirds will be back on the pitch on Saturday when the team hosts Northern Colorado at 2:00 p.m. The match is the final home game for Southern Utah until the Breast Cancer Awareness Game on Oct. 11 against Westminster College.

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Players Mentioned

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

#25 Sutton Fox: GK; 5' 8"; Freshman

#15 Shaley Ipson-Allen: F; 5' 8"; Freshman

#3 Kristen Fronk: D; 5' 6"; Freshman

#14 Erin Wright: F; 5' 7"; Freshman

#10 Riley Bassett: MF; 5' 10"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

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

#25 Sutton Fox
: 5' 8"; Freshman
: GK

#15 Shaley Ipson-Allen
: 5' 8"; Freshman
: F

#3 Kristen Fronk
: 5' 6"; Freshman
: D

#14 Erin Wright
: 5' 7"; Freshman
: F

#10 Riley Bassett
: 5' 10"; Freshman
: MF