Thunderbirds Edged in Big Sky Opener

FLAGSTAFF, Arizona, 9/21/12 – Southern Utah suffered a 1-0 defeat to Northern Arizona in its first Big Sky match on Friday. The game remained scoreless until early in the second half when the Lumberjacks were able to elude the Thunderbird defense and notch what would prove to be the game-winning goal.

The Thunderbirds had several good looks at the net early on but were unable to connect on a score as the two teams finished the opening period still tied at 0-0. The Lumberjacks held a slight edge in the shot count at the break, recording 10 tries to Southern Utah's six in the first 45 minutes of play.

NAU then quickly gained the advantage in the second half as freshman forward Demi Schmieder took a pass from teammate Haley Wingender and sent the ball towards the goal. The shot was nearly cleared by SUU defender Megan Palmer who reached the ball just as it crossed the goal line to put the Lumberjacks out in front 1-0 in the 50th minute.

The T-Birds pushed the attack down the stretch, outshooting their opponents 8-6 in the second half, but were unable to come up with an equalizer. Senior forward Stacey Brinkman would lead SUU with seven shots in the game while Wingender and Shawnee Morgan each had three for NAU.

Both sides were essentially even in shots in the match as Southern Utah took 14 attempts to Northern Arizona's 16 while the Lumberjacks held a 8-1 advantage on corner kicks.

The loss drops SUU to 1-5-1 on the year with a conference mark of 0-1-0 while NAU improves to 1-0-0 in Big Sky contests and 3-5-2 overall. Southern Utah will continue its opening conference road trip with trips to Idaho State and Weber State next week. The T-Birds will square off against the Bengals on Thursday at 4 p.m. before meeting up with Wildcats next Saturday at 12 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

#7 Stacey Brinkman: F; 5' 8"; Senior

#13 Megan Palmer: D; 5' 6"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

#7 Stacey Brinkman
: 5' 8"; Senior
: F

#13 Megan Palmer
: 5' 6"; Sophomore
: D

Players Mentioned

#7 Stacey Brinkman

#13 Megan Palmer

Players Mentioned

#7 Stacey Brinkman

#13 Megan Palmer