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Southern Utah University Athletics

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SOUTHERN UTAH THUNDERBIRDS
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Ashley Rivera
0
Southern Utah SUU (1-13-1, 0-6-1)
2
Winner Northern Ariz. NAU (6-10-0, 4-3-0)
Southern Utah SUU
(1-13-1, 0-6-1)
0
Final
2
Northern Ariz. NAU
(6-10-0, 4-3-0)
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Southern Utah SUU 0 0 0
Northern Ariz. NAU 1 1 2

Game Recap: Women's Soccer |

Thunderbirds Come up Short in Flagstaff

FLAGSTAFF, Arizona-- The Southern Utah University women's soccer team fell to the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks, 2-0, Sunday, afternoon. 

The loss drops the Thunderbirds to (1-13-1) overall and (0-6-1) in the Big Sky, while Northern Arizona improved its record to (6-10-0) on the year and (4-3-0) in conference play. 

"We created very good chances today," said SUU head coach Kai Edwards."They saved a breakaway and Ashley [Rivera] crushed a free-kick off the crossbar. We have been working on defending set plays better and today we did very well. We gifted them two goals. We have two more games to improve as a group and we look forward to seeing progress next week to close out the season" 

Both teams battled in the midfield from the beginning whistle as neither team was able to create quality chances in the first 15 minutes of the match.  NAU quickly found its footing, though, and began to control the ball and make deep runs into the Thunderbirds' final third. The Lumberjacks got the scoring started in the 32nd minute when they earned a throw-in near the Thunderbirds' 18-yard box. Defender Abby Donathan sent the throw inside the box to forward Josie Novak. Novak turned and attempted to fire a cross to a crashing Lumberjack attacker, but a Thunderbird defender intercepted the pass and cleared it towards NAU forward Madison Montgomery who received the ball in stride and fired a low shot to the bottom right corner of the net giving the home side the early lead. 

After the goal, the Thunderbird attack quickly started to settle in and throw jabs back. Their best chance of the first half came in the 35th minute when Forward Ellie Vasey made a deep run up the sideline inside the Lumberjack final third with a three-on-two advantage. Vasey attempted to make a cross inside to her teammates Ashley Rivera and Rachael Hunt, but an NAU defender read the play and intercepted the ball spoiling the T-Birds' scoring chance. 

Coming out of the second half each side battled back and forth. SUU almost found the equalizer in the 51st minute when Hunt drew a foul just outside the Lumberjacks' box, awarding a free-kick to the Thunderbirds. Rivera launched the set-piece towards the top right corner of the goal, but her shot ricocheted off the top woodwork and rolled out of bounds. 

Northern Arizona's attack continued to surge forward and found the back of the net again in the 62nd minute. The T-Birds scrambled to try to cut into the Lumberjacks' lead, firing 11 shots at the NAU goalkeeper, but in the end, it was too much to overcome. 

  • The T-Birds have fired a total of 57 shots in their last four matchups. 

  • Ashley Rivera led the Thunderbirds with four shots on the day. 

  • Forward Kamryn Farro played a full 90 minutes, recording two shots and multiple clearances for the Thunderbirds. 

SUU now looks ahead to its final road trip of the season as it travels to take on the Portland State Vikings on Friday, October 22nd, then Sacramento State on Sunday, October 24th. Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+. 

For all the latest on Southern Utah soccer, follow @SUUSoccer on Twitter and Instagram, and like the Southern Utah Soccer Facebook page.

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