CEDAR CITY, Utah - The Southern Utah University women's soccer team will look to win their third consecutive contest in a four-day span to start the 2022 season, as they will travel to Jackon, Mississippi to take on Jackson State tomorrow morning at 10:30 AM MT.

Game Info

Southern Utah vs Jackson State

Date: August 21, 2022

Kickoff Time: 10:30 AM MT

Location: Jackson, Mississippi

Venue: JSU Soccer Field

Stream: Link

Live Stats: Link

Preview

Southern Utah is coming off of a second consecutive dominant performance, picking up a 10-0 victory over Mississippi Valley State Friday night to begin the season with two straight victories for the first time in SUU soccer history.

The T-Birds controlled the game from kickoff, owning 68 percent of the possession time throughout the match and recording an impressive 34 shots, compared to MVSU's five. SUU also spent 83 percent of their possession time on MVSU's side of the field and had seven different players score at least one goal.

Freshman Sammie Sofonia has recorded a hat trick in each of her first two collegiate contests, and she currently leads the Western Athletic Conference in a multitude of statistical categories, including shots, points, and total goals scored. Her six goals across SUU's two contests thus far are the most by an individual player over a two-game stretch in program history. 

Victoria Caucci also had a tremendous performance Friday night, recording three assists and one goal throughout the match. She currently ranks first in the WAC in total assists.

Megan Short and Naomi Kehl split equal time in the net for SUU, recording their second consecutive combined shutout, which marks the first time in program history that the Thunderbirds have had two straight shutouts to begin the season.

Southern Utah will now head to Jackson, Mississippi for their biggest challenge yet, as they seek to maintain a perfect record and pick up three straight road victories on opening weekend. It will not be an easy task, as a talented Jackson State team stands in the way of the T-Birds continuing what has been the best start to a single season in the history of the program. 

The Tigers played their first match of the season on Friday, falling to North Alabama after conceding two goals in the second half. 

JSU returns a good proportion of their production from the 2021 season, including their top goal scorer and 2022 Preseason All-SWAC First Team honoree Annalise Brunson. Brunson started all 18 games for the Tigers last season, tallying six goals and 13 total points, both of which ranked first on the team.

Jackson State also returns Taylor Tionna, their starting goalkeeper from the 2021 season, who recorded two shutouts and tallied 95 total saves over 18 contests last season. 

Southern Utah hopes to have another impressive performance, as Head Coach Kai Edwards and the T-Birds look to continue making program history by going 3-0 on their opening weekend road swing before returning to Cedar City for their first home match next Thursday.

History

Tomorrow's match will mark the first time that Southern Utah and Jackson State have ever faced off on the soccer field. 

Follow Us

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