MESA, Ariz. - Super sophomore Kate Schirmer led the way for Southern Utah Soccer as the squad dominated Benedictine-Mesa, 6-0, in Mesa, Ariz. on Sunday. Originally scheduled for Feb. 21 in St. George, Utah, the two teams found a spot on the schedule to make good on the contest today.
The Thunderbird put on a show with a few historic performances. Today marked the first time the T-Birds notched six goals since a decade ago on Oct. 27, 2011. That day, the team turned in a 6-1 victory against South Dakota. Additionally, today proved to be the most dominant win for Southern Utah in a shutout since an 8-0 triumph against Embry-Riddle on Aug. 25, 2010.
"I am proud of the ladies," head coach Kai Edwards said. "It is not easy to travel this far and wake up and play. We played a very scrappy and competitive team that was well-coached and organized today. We were able to have a shut out even though we gave up a few chances. Up front, we had a lot of chances and were able to play multiple formations so that we can improve and prepare for conference play."
Today proved to be a first as well for Coach Edwards as he picked up his first win at the helm of the program.
Schirmer turned in a career day with a stunning hat trick that included a pair of assists as well. That's the first hat trick for the Thunderbirds in five years. Ally Thimsen previous punched in a trio of goals against Idaho State on Oct. 21, 2016.
Schirmer opened up scoring at the 27-minute mark assisted by Kamryn Farro and Jaylynn Barton. She then pushed the score to 2-0 for the T-Birds a shot at 33 minutes assisted by Mekaylla White, before teaming up with White to assist on Rachael Hunt's goal at 51 minujtes to extend the gap to 3-0.
Following an unassisted tally from Farro to grasp a 4-0 advantage at 57 minutes, Schirmer collected her third goal of the day with a shot assisted by Hunt and Farro for a 5-0 lead at 80 minutes. Farro closed out scoring, 6-0, with her second unassisted connection of the day as she tickled the twine during the 85th minute.
"(Today's performance) has been coming for Kate," Edwards said. "From our first exhibition match (against Utah Valley) where she missed a breakaway, she's been on the hunt to rectify that. She had a lot of confidence today, and was top class in front of the goal. Scoring a hat trick here at SUU has not been done for many years. Full credit goes to her for her defensive effort as well as her team play. Sitting on a potential hat trick, she still turned in an assist to Rachael Hunt for a goal. Kate is turning into a point-getter who is going after SUU's attacking records."
Based on unofficial stats, SUU turned in 10 shots on goal, including 19 total shots, while Benedictine-Mesa had one shot on goal that led to the only save by SUU goalkeeper Jennifer Kovisto. Benedictine-Mesa had just five shots overall.
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Next up for the Thunderbirds is their Big Sky Conference and home opener with a pair of tilts against Northern Arizona this weekend on March 19 (12 noon MT) and March 21 (12 noon MT).. Both will be televised on Pluto TV, while live stats can be found on tbirdstats.com.
Stay up to date during the 2021 Thunderbird Soccer season by following @SUUSoccer on Twitter and Instagram and liking the Southern Utah Soccer page on Facebook.
