Thunderbirds Drop Third Straight to Open Conference Play

BROOKINGS, S.D. – Southern Utah's offense was silenced once again Sunday as the Thunderbirds were shutout for the sixth time this season in a loss at South Dakota State. The match proved to be a defensive struggle early on, remaining scoreless well into the second half, but the Jackrabbit offense eventually broke through to tally two late unanswered goals for the 2-0 win.

Breana Fitzgerald made her fifth start of the season at goalkeeper for SUU, where she has contributed significantly to the Thunderbirds' defense, during which time she has posted a solid goals against average of 1.85. The redshirt-sophomore was just one save shy of her season high in the match, recording eight stops against the Jackrabbit attack.

South Dakota State pressured the Thunderbirds throughout the first half outshooting SUU, 15-1. The T-Bird defense held strong however and kept the match scoreless until the 56th minute when senior forward Kelsey Ferguson was able to elude defenders and put the ball in the back of the net for her third goal of the season.

The score would remain 1-0 in favor of SDSU for the majority of the second half. Then in the 75th minute Danielle Neuhalfen created a tremendous scoring opportunity by playing an excellent cross into the box where her teammate Christa Nyblom was able to punch it past Fitzgerald to set the final score at 2-0 in favor of the home team.

The Thunderbird offense struggled to match the Jackrabbits attack and finished the match with just four shots, matching their lowest output of the season. With the loss Southern Utah is now 0-3 in league play, and 2-7-2 overall. The Jackrabbits hold a 2-0 mark in conference after defeating Oakland earlier in the week, and improve their record on the season to 6-5-1.

Southern Utah will be off this week prior to a matchup with in-state rival Utah Valley in Orem on Monday, October 10. The Thunderbirds will then return home to host Summit League opponents Western Illinois and IUPUI the following weekend.

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Players Mentioned

#30 Breana Fitzgerald: GK; 5' 9"; Redshirt Sophomore

Players Mentioned

#30 Breana Fitzgerald
: 5' 9"; Redshirt Sophomore
: GK

Players Mentioned

#30 Breana Fitzgerald

Players Mentioned

#30 Breana Fitzgerald