CEDAR CITY, Utah – The Thunderbirds are back! The SUU soccer team has the privilege of representing Southern Utah as the first team on campus to compete during the 2021-22 school year as they travel for a pair of road matches in California against Hope International and UC Irvine.
GAME INFO
Game 1
Southern Utah at Hope International
Thursday, August 19 (7:00 PM MT)
Irvine, Calif. (OC Great Park Irvine Championship Stadium)
Watch | Live Stats (XML)
Game 2
Southern Utah at UC Irvine
Sunday, August 22 (2:00 PM MT)
Irvine, Calif. (Anteater Stadium)
Watch | Live Stats
ABOUT HOPE INTERNATIONAL
The Hope International Royals are an NAIA program competing in the Golden State Athletic Conference. A year ago, the Royals finished with a record of 4-3-1. Hope finished the year on a four-match winless streak. Ofelia Sosa Cruz led the Royals with three goals on the year.
ABOUT UC IRVINE
The Anteaters played a spring season consisting of five matches against conference opponents. After drawing the opening contests against Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach State, Irvine ripped off three victories over CSUN, UC Riverside and UC Santa Barbara. UC Irvine defeated Saint Mary's in an exhibition to start the year, and the Anteaters will face No. 5 UCLA on Thursday before taking on the Thunderbirds.
NOTES AND QUOTES
-The T-Birds were picked to finish eighth in the Big Sky preseason poll. Northern Arizona was selected as the favorite to win the league with Montana and Northern Colorado rounding out the top three.
-Athletic Director Debbie Corum announced a contract extension for Kai Edwards and promotion to Associate Head Coach for Mario Felix-Suarez prior to the start of the season. Edwards' extension will keep him in Cedar City through the 2024 season.
"My family and I are honored Debbie and Sonia Hahn are entrusting me with leading the young women of Southern Utah University. We are excited to grow this program to new heights and watch these ladies break barriers. We are blessed to work with amazing players and coaches who all have the same objectives to excel both in the classroom and on the field. Having future recruits and our current student-athletes know that I plan on being here for a long time with my wife, Tessa, and two kids, Kaleyna and Kanoa, is important to the success of SUU soccer."
-Edwards on his contract extension
"We are excited for the upcoming season. It will be a good opportunity for us to show where we really belong in the conference standings."
-Edwards on the preseason polls and upcoming season
For all the latest on Southern Utah soccer, follow @SUUSoccer on Twitter and Instagram, and like the Southern Utah Soccer Facebook page.
