CEDAR CITY, Utah - Coming off of a 1-0 exhibition win over Utah State last Friday, the Southern Utah soccer team will look to open the regular season in similar fashion this coming weekend in Michigan.
Previously On Thunderbird Soccer
The Thunderbirds opened the 2018 season last Friday with a 1-0 exhibition win over the Utah State Aggies at home.
Ellee Layton scored the game-winning goal with about five minutes left to play in the match. It was her first goal in a Southern Utah jersey. Devri Hartle was credited with the assist on the goal.
Scouting Report: Michigan State Spartans
The Spartans of Michigan State are coming off of a 2017 season in which they finished with a 6-11-1 overall record and 12th in the Big Ten Conference with a 2-8-1 conference record. They allowed the most goals in the Big Ten (40) and were 12th in goal scoring with 18 on the season.
The Spartans have already played two exhibition matches this season, both resulting in wins. They beat Toledo 4-2 and Central Michigan 2-0 last weekend. MSU had three players named to the Big Ten Preseason Honors List. Senior Lexy Warner, redshirt juniors Michaela Kovacs and Reilley Ott all made the list. Warner was the team's second leading scorer last season with five goals and three assists.
Scouting Report: Central Michigan Chippewas
The Chippewas of Central Michigan are coming off of a 2017 season in which they finished with a 8-8-3 overall record and a 3-6-2 record in the Mid-American Conference. They finished in 5th in the West Division of the MAC.
The Chippewas played their only exhibition match last weekend against Michigan State, losing the match 2-0. CMU returns their leading scorer from last season Lexi Pelafas, who scored 13 of the team's 31 goals in 2017. Pelafas also dished out two assists on the season.
Match Info
The team's first match of the weekend will come against the Spartans in East Lansing on Friday August 17. The match is set to kick off at 5:00 p.m. Mountain time (7:00 p.m. Eastern time) at DeMartin Soccer Complex.
The Thunderbirds will then head to Mount Pleasant to take on the Chippewas on Sunday August 19. That match will kick off at 11:00 a.m. Mountain time (1:00 p.m. Eastern time) at the Central Michigan Soccer/Lacrosse Complex.
Links to live stats of both matches and a live stream of Sunday's match against Central Michigan are available at suutbirds.com.
Follow Us
Stay up to date during the 2018 Thunderbird soccer season by following @SUUSoccer on Twitter and Instagram and liking the Southern Utah Soccer page on Facebook.
