CEDAR CITY, Utah - Whitney Wangsgard scored her second goal of the weekend and fifth of the season in the eighth minute of the match, proving to be the only goal of the game, as the Southern Utah University women's soccer team beat Tarleton 1-0 to become the first team in program history to be unbeaten through their first four conference games.

"For our team to fight and dig and get a shutout on the road is absolutely unbelievable," said SUU Head Coach Kai Edwards. "Four points on our first road trip in conference play is awesome."

With swelling temperatures in the mid 90s around kickoff for the second consecutive match, Southern Utah once again managed to get off to a fast start. 

Just under eight minutes into the match, Kate Schirmer made a move by a Tarleton defender on the right side of the field and pushed the ball down near the box. Schirmer placed a beautiful cross that found Wangsgard in the middle of the box. Wangsgard smashed a one-touch shot that flew  by the Texans goalkeeper, finding the back of the net and giving SUU a 1-0 lead. 

The remainder of the first half proved to be a defensive matchup, with each team owning 50 percent of the possession time, and combining to total just nine shots and four shots on goal. The Thunderbirds entered halftime holding a 1-0 advantage. 

SUU elevated their game to begin the second half, as they began to take control of the tempo and dominate the game. The Thunderbirds midfield and backline were spectacular in the last 45 minutes of play, holding Tarleton State to just one shot for the entire period.

The T-Birds had a couple quality chances to extend their lead, most notably another shot from Wangsgard off a cross from Schirmer that forced the Texans goalkeeper to make an impressive save. 

Southern Utah was unable to score in the second period; but, fortunately they did not need to, as SUU went on to shut out Tarleton for the entire game to pick up the 1-0 victory and extend their unbeaten streak in conference play to four games.

Notable Stats

• SUU goalkeeper Megan Short recorded two saves in the net to earn her fourth shutout of the season.

• Whitney Wangsgard has either scored or assisted in each of Southern Utah's four conference matches thus far. 

• Southern Utah is tied for first place in the Western Athletic Conference standings. 

• SUU's overall record of 8-1-1 is the best mark through ten games in program history.

• Sunday's win overall Tarleton marked the first time in program history that a team has been unbeaten through their first four conference matches. 

Kai Edwards Postgame Interview

Up Next

The Thunderbirds will return to Cedar City to host rival Utah Tech in what will be a showdown between the top two teams in the WAC standings. The match is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. MT.

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