Grand Forks, N.D., Oct. 12 – Southern Utah (6-4-2, 3-1-1 Big Sky) got back into the win column with a 3-1 decision at North Dakota (1-10-1, 0-5-0 Big Sky) on Sunday. The Thunderbird offense continued to display a balanced attack as Alyssa Gomez, Ally Thimsen and Shelby Green each recorded a goal in the contest.
“It was nice to bounce back and secure a win on the road. Anytime you can get points away from home is a bonus," stated SUU head coach Becky Hogan. "Our play today was very clinical possession soccer which is what we do best. Having strayed from that in the past two games it was nice to be back on familiar footing."
North Dakota struck first in the 19th minute when Sabrina Majerczyk found Marissa Ricci in front of the net for a chip in that put the home team in front 1-0. SUU answered back just a few minutes later after Alyssa Gomez took a pass from Christine Meehan just outside the box and fired in the equalizer.
The Thunderbirds went ahead with a second first half goal in 29th minute as Ally Thimsen got her head on a cross from Logan Harker to make the count 2-1. The score pulled the freshman forward into a five-way tie for the team lead with her third goal of the season.
Sophomore midfielder Shelby Green put the match away in the second half by adding a second header for T-Birds in the 63rd minute. The goal also marked her third of the year.
Freshman defender Jessica French set up the score for her second career assist. Harker and Meehan each recorded their third assist of the 2014 campaign, and share the team lead in the category.
"Again this weekend you see our youth step up to the challenge," commented Hogan. "They have been consistently stepping up their game. This is both a testament to our upperclassmen's leadership, but also to the fiercely competitive nature of our younger players."
Southern Utah will be back in Cedar City this week to host its final home matches of the regular season. Eastern Washington will make a visit on Friday at 4:00 p.m. followed by a senior day matchup with the Montana Grizzlies on Sunday at noon. Live stats and video for the matches are available at www.suutbirds.com.
