CEDAR CITY, Utah - After a tough weekend at home, the Thunderbird soccer team will hit the road this weekend to take on the Lumberjacks of Northern Arizona and the Hornets of Sacramento State. These will be the last two games of the regular-season for Southern Utah, with a possibility of being able to sneak into the Big Sky Conference Tournament.

Previously on Thunderbird Soccer

The Thunderbirds are coming off a four match homestand, where they finished with a 2-2 record over the two weekends.

After picking up a pair of 2-1 victories over Idaho State and Weber State, the Thunderbirds struggled to get any offensive momentum against Northern Colorado and North Dakota, eventually falling 3-1 and 3-0 in the respective matches.

Southern Utah's lone goal over the course of the weekend came off of the foot of Jessica French, who sent home a corner kick from Payton Wells, as the pair of seniors combined for the score.

Big Sky At a Glance

With just five spots remaining in this year's Big Sky Conference Tournament, needing to win will be a big part of a lot of team's mindsets this weekend.

Eastern Washington (6-0-1) have clinched their spot in the postseason, sitting on top of the Big Sky Conference with the best conference mark and the best overall mark.

Right behind them is Portland State, who are currently 5-2, closely followed by Montana at 4-2-1. If the tournament started today, Northern Colorado (4-3), Northern Arizona (4-4) and North Dakota (3-4) would round at the tournament field.

Southern Utah (3-5) currently sits just one spot out of the tournament with two games remaining.

Unfortunately for the Thunderbirds, two weekends of Big Sky soccer remain and the T-Birds will only compete in one due to where their bye landed.

Scouting Report: Northern Arizona Lumberjacks  

The Lumberjacks will enter Friday's match with a 9-8 overall record and 4-4 mark in the Big Sky Conference. NAU has been very good at home so far this season, with a 7-2 mark in Flagstaff.

Northern Arizona split their last weekend of competition, losing to Weber State 2-1 but bouncing back strong against Idaho State with a 4-0 victory.  

After playing SUU, the Lumberjacks will only have one contest remaining on October 27 against Sacramento State.

Adrian Nixt, who was named Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week this week, is the top goal scorer for the Lumberjacks this season, putting six goals in the back of the net. She has also accounted for five assists, bringing her point total on the season to 17.

Scouting Report: Sacramento State Hornets

The Hornets of Sacramento State will have a 7-7-3 record entering Sunday's match with Southern Utah, as they'll have the day off on Friday. They currently have a 2-3-3 mark in the Big Sky Conference and a 4-3 record at home.

The Hornets had positive results in their last two matches, as they knocked off Idaho State 6-3 before ending in a 1-1 draw with Weber State last Sunday.

Freshman Kylee Kim-Bustillos has been the top offensive threat for the Hornets this season, scoring eight goals and handing out three assists for a total of 19 points. She's done this with only 23 shots on goal during her first year as a Hornet.

Match Info

Friday's match against Northern Arizona will be a late kickoff, as the teams will start competition at 7 p.m. MT. A stream of the match will be available on PlutoTV, and a link to live stats will be available on both www.nauathletics.com and www.suutbirds.com.  

Sunday's match will start at 2 p.m. MT, with a stream available on PlutoTV and live stats available on www.hornetsports.com and www.suutbirds.com.

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