PORTLAND, Oregon-- The Southern Utah University women's soccer team played the Portland State Vikings to a 1-1 draw in a nail-biting back and forth matchup Friday afternoon. 

With the tie, the Thunderbirds improved to (1-13-2) overall and (0-6-2) in the Big Sky Conference, while Portland State also improved to (4-9-2) this season and (2-3-2) in conference play.

"We gave a great effort on the road," said SUU Head coach Kai Edwards. " That was an amazing goal to open the game. The team had an incredible spirit yesterday in training and on the bus today. Today was one of our most detailed performances this year. I'm so proud because we didn't play like we had nothing to lose, we treated it like it was just another soccer game and we had another opportunity to compete like crazy."

SUU came out of the gate hard and immediately started to test the Portland State backline. The Thunderbirds created multiple chances early and got on the scoreboard in the 9th minute of the match after Rachael Hunt drew a foul just outside the box, awarding a free-kick to the Thunderbirds. Kamryn Farro set up to take the set-piece and sent a high looping pass towards the back post to an unmarked Natalia Sepulveda, who launched a shot to the bottom left corner of the net giving the T-Birds the early lead. 

The T-Birds lost no steam after the early goal as their attack continued to surge forward. They nearly found another goal in the 24th minute when Rachael Hunt made a deep run inside the Portland State box and fired a right-footed bomb towards the top right corner of the goal, but her shot ricocheted off the top woodwork and bounced out to a PSU defender. 

After a dominant start from the Thunderbirds, the Vikings began to retain more of the time of possession and create chances of their own. Portland State got on the scoreboard in the 26th minute when Forward Ranyiah Burton collected a pass just outside the Thunderbirds box. Burton attempted to evade a Thunderbird defender, but the two got tangled up, and the ball rolled towards Chole Huling, who received the ball in stride and sent a shot to the top left corner of the net. 

With the game tied, the Vikings kept the same energy and fired seven more shots, but SUU goalkeeper Megan Short thwarted those chances sending the game into the half-tied. 

Coming out of the half, both teams continued to throw jabs back and forth. The Thunderbirds gained some momentum back late and nearly found the game-winner in the 87th-minute when Monica Brown collected a pass inside the box. Brown turned and fired a shot to the bottom left corner of the net, but her shot just barely snuck out of bounds, spoiling the Thunderbirds scoring opportunity and sending the game into overtime. 

During the first overtime, both teams scrambled to find a way to break through, but neither side was able to find the back of the net, sending the game into the second overtime period. 

In the second overtime, the Vikings broke a long run and nearly found themselves a game-winner in the 102nd-minute when PSU sent a low looping cross inside the box to a crashing Chloe Huling. Huling ran onto the ball inside the box and sent a low sliding shot towards the middle of the net, but it was right at Megan Short, who pounced on the ball. Both sides continued to battle to find the back of the net, but in the end, neither team was able to find the game-winner. 

• Defender Natalia Sepulveda's 9th-minute goal was her second as a Thunderbird. Sepulveda also led the Thunderbird with two shots on goal in the match. 

• This is the Thunderbird's second draw this season.  

• Defenders Kamryn Farro and Emma Leong recorded multiple clearances for the Thunderbirds while playing the entire 110 minutes. 

• SUU goalkeeper Megan Short made seven acrobatic saves in the match.  

SUU now faces another short turnaround as it travels to Sacramento to take on the Sacramento State Hornets on Sunday. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:00 MT. Streaming of the match will be available on ESPN+. 

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