CEDAR CITY, UTAH -- The Steph Roper-Whitney Gardner connection strikes again. This time, it was an equalizer in the 80th minute, and the Thunderbirds earned their first point against Eastern Washington since 2015.

Head Coach Kai Edwards said
"We competed hard together. The team showed great spirit to come back versus a very good team. That is our first point since 2015 versus Eastern Washington so we are happy."

Game Recap 
It was a quick start to the game, with both teams seeing quality chances early and the goalkeepers making big saves. A defensive miscue by the Thunderbirds left Eastern Washington's Chloe Pattison one-on-one with Darya Mosallaei. Despite a great effort by Mosallaei, Pattison broke the 0-0 score. 

It took the Thunderbirds all the way to the 80th minute to tie it up, but thanks to constant pressure and eventually a quality ball from Roper to Gardner, the Thunderbirds had it tied up with just 10 minutes to play. 

Mosallaei came up huge in the final 10 minutes for the Thunderbirds, making two big saves and keeping the score tied. 

Statistical Recap
The Thunderbirds outshot the Eagles 11-9, but only three of those shots finished on target compared to six for EWU. 

Yui Fujii and Sarah Assumma led the T-Birds with three shots, including one on target for each. 

Pattison had three shots for the Eagles, and all three were finishing on net. 

Mosallaei had potentially her best game in an SUU jersey, making five saves, including some big ones down the stretch. 

Up Next
SUU will have another week of break before taking on Colorado College on Thursday, September 5, at 4:00 p.m. at the Thunderbird Soccer Field.

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