CEDAR CITY, Utah, Sept. 28 – Southern Utah (5-3-1, 2-0 Big Sky) pulled ahead of visiting Portland State (3-4-3, 0-1-1 Big Sky) with a pair of first half goals from freshmen Abbie Flandro and Payton Bonino before outlasting the Vikings in the second half for a 2-0 shutout win on Sunday. The victory over the Big Sky preseason favorite marks the second straight for Thunderbirds to open conference play.
“It was nice to come away with a win, we kept the Thunderbird hot streak alive, the game was tight from start to finish. Things were kind of real physical and chippy but we battled through it,” stated SUU head coach Becky Hogan. “This conference is so tight that anybody can win on any day. We just try to focus on what we are doing well, the things that we need to improve and take it one game at a time.”
SUU took the lead in the 21st minute when sophomore forward Logan Harker found Flandro open in the box for a shot that landed in the left side of the net to put the T-Birds in front 1-0. Less than ten minutes later senior defender Christine Meehan would press up the right hand side and send a ball across that was deflected by the PSU keeper, but ended up in front of Bonino for a tap-in for her first career goal.
“We thought all along that they were a really good defensive unit, but they kind of over-commit and we knew that the back door would be open and so that is something we tried to go for and you saw that on the first goal,” explained Hogan. “I thought we had a smart game plan and our kids are getting really good at taking information and implementing it into the game.”
The Southern Utah offense kept up the pressure throughout the opening period and held a 10-6 shooting advantage at the break. The T-Birds continued to attack throughout the match, ending the day with a 15-11 lead in the total shot count as well as a 7-3 advantage in attempts made on the goal.
On the defensive side SUU sophomore Taylor Bolding made three saves to post her third shutout of the season. Caitlin Plese made five stops for the Vikings in goal, but was charged with allowing two goals.
Flandro's score marked her second game-winning goal of the season. It also put her atop the Thunderbird scorers as she is tied for the lead with both three goals and two assists for a team-high eight total points.
Southern Utah wraps up its opening conference home stand this week as it gets set to host new Big Sky member Idaho on Friday at 4 p.m. Live stats and video for the match will be available at www.suutbirds.com.
