CEDAR CITY, Utah - Sept. 16 - Southern Utah women's soccer collected its first shutout of the season as four first-half goals from four different attackers gave the Thunderbirds a 4-0 victory over the Westminster Griffins on Wednesday afternoon. The win is the second in a row for the T-Birds as the team moves to 2-4 on the year, with WC dropping to 4-6.
"We did a great job of moving the ball today and that led to great things," head coach Brian Stock said after the game. "In the second half they packed it in, but we were still able to find feet and ended up with more shots in the second half than in the first. It was a great game for us, but now we are looking toward Sunday."
Southern Utah's Michelle Judd opened the scoring in the 10th minute as her header off a free kick by Allison Goettsche proved to the be the game winner. Laura Goodrich blazed down the sideline 30 seconds later and pushed a ball past Griffin keeper Dayne Winter-Nolte to push the score to 2-0. Makell Southworth made an immediate impact as a substitution, scoring 30 seconds into her time on the pitch, beating the keeper on a breakaway.
Shelby Ostler capped the Thunderbird scoring in the first half as she took a long cross from Elyse Alexander in the 35th minute and buried the ball into the back of the net to set the score at 4-0.
Neither team would find a goal in the second half, despite 12 shots by the Thunderbirds with ten of them on goal. Southern Utah's defense was especially tight, holding the Griffins to a single shot in the final 45 minutes. SUU also held Westminster without a corner kick during the game, while recording seven on the attacking third, including five in the second half.
Ostler led the Thunderbirds in shots with four on the afternoon. True freshman Breana Fitzgerald earned the start in goal for a second consecutive game, earning the second win of her career after playing the first 45 minutes of the game. In all, Southern Utah used 21 players during the match. Judd and Riley Bassett were awarded assists on the second and third goal, respectively.
SUU will look to turn its two-game winning streak into a three-game winning streak on Sunday afternoon when the Thunderbirds host the Murray State Racers. That game is scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m
