CEDAR CITY, Utah. - The Southern Utah University women's soccer team used a goal by
sophomore forward Missy Lazcano to even things up but Oakland University
answered with a pair of goals before going on to post a 3-1 victory at
Thunderbird Soccer Field Thursday afternoon.
Southern Utah finished with a 12-9 shot
advantage, holding the Golden Grizzlies well below the season average of 17
shot-per-game but could not overcome the three first-half goals. The
Thunderbirds dropped to 5-10-1 overall and 2-6 in Summit League play while
Oakland improved to 11-5-2 overall and 7-0-1 in conference play, claiming the
Summit League title outright with the win.
"We continue to compete and keep these tough
games close but today we made a couple bad mistakes that cost us," stated head
coach Brian Stock. "We did a great job of scoring the equalizer to give us some
momentum but Oakland answered right back to swing the momentum back to their
side. I was very proud of how we competed in the second half, we continued to
get great looks late but just couldn't break down their (Oakland) defense."
Following Oakland's goal in the 12th
minute, the Thunderbirds nearly evened things up in the 20th minute
as senior forward Erin Wright gained possession along the left side and
dribbled inside the 18-yard box before firing on goal. Wright's shot deflected
off a defender and then hit the cross bar before bouncing away and cleared by
the Oakland defense.
The next SUU attack did even the match as
redshirt-sophomore forward Stacey Brinkman won a battle for ball at midfield,
heading the ball up to a streaking Lazcano who dribbled past an Oakland
defender and snuck one past the charging OU keeper and into the right corner for
her third goal of the season.
Oakland regrouped and gained the momentum
right back, scoring a pair of goals within the next three minutes to give them
the 3-1 advantage they would take to the break and eventually hold on to.
The second half saw a much more aggressive
Thunderbird team, launching 10 shots in the period but could not get one
through the Oakland defense. Junior Riley Bassett and sophomore Shelby Ostler
had a couple great looks but saw their shots miss wide in the final minutes.
SUU redshirt-sophomore keeper Charly Booth
made four saves while Oakland keeper Payj O'Shea made two saves.
The Thunderbirds close out the season this
Saturday, hosting IPFW at 2 p.m. Prior to the match, SUU will recognize its two
seniors Wright and Allison Thompson.
