CEDAR CITY, Utah - Southern Utah women's soccer opens a two-match Big Sky road swing on Thursday, Oct. 22, at Eastern Washington. Kickoff at Eastern Washington Soccer Field is set for 3 p.m. PT (4 p.m. MT).
The Thunderbirds lead the Big Sky in goals and assists and head to a city that has been good to them: both of SUU's wins in the series came in Cheney. The trip is also a homecoming for Spokane natives Dakota Hansen and Reese Peterson.
SUU then plays at Idaho on Sunday, Oct. 25, at 2 p.m. MT in Moscow.
"Looking forward to another difficult road challenge this weekend. Two perennially good programs that will demand us to be sharp and consistent on both ends of the field as we continue to battle for a conference tournament spot."
Scouting the Thunderbirds
SUU is 4-8-3 overall and 1-3-2 in the Big Sky after a 2-1 home loss to Northern Colorado on Sunday. The Thunderbirds won the second half 1-0 and matched the Bears with 13 shots and eight shots on goal. With five points, SUU sits seventh in the conference standings, level on points with sixth-place Idaho, Sunday's opponent.
Through Big Sky statistics as of Oct. 19, SUU leads the conference in goals (27), assists (23) and points (77) in all matches. In league play, the Thunderbirds have allowed five goals in six matches, tied for the third-fewest in the Big Sky. Northern Colorado was the first conference opponent to score twice against them.
Freshman forward Ashlyn O'Malley of Rogers, Minn., leads SUU with five goals and has scored all three of the Thunderbirds' Big Sky goals: the game-winner against Portland State on Oct. 4, the opener against Northern Arizona on Oct. 15 and Sunday's goal against Northern Colorado. Her three conference goals are tied for second in the Big Sky in league matches.
Freshman forward Gracen Blieschke of Strathalbyn, Australia, leads the team with 12 points and 37 shots and is tied for the Big Sky lead with four assists. Her 37 shots rank third in the conference.
Freshman goalkeeper Tatum Trout of Huntington Beach, Calif., has started all 15 matches. She leads the Big Sky in saves in conference matches (34) and saves per match (5.67) and ranks third in league play with a .872 save percentage and a 0.83 goals-against average. In all matches, she has 67 saves, third in the conference.
Notes on the Thunderbirds
Back near home. Thursday's match is a regional homecoming for sophomore midfielder Dakota Hansen and freshman defender Reese Peterson, both of Spokane and both Mount Spokane High School products. They are the only Spokane natives on SUU's all-time roster. Hansen has started all 15 matches this season and 28 of her 31 career appearances. Peterson scored her first collegiate goal against Justice on Sept. 6 and has a goal and an assist in 11 appearances. Senior forward Kayleigh Acree is from Tacoma, Wash.
Hansen's 1,000. Hansen has played 998 minutes this season. Two more minutes Thursday would make her the seventh Thunderbird to reach 1,000 minutes in 2026, joining Rylan Tebbs (1,252), Nao Yasuda (1,224), Trout (1,214), Ashlyn Woodbury (1,171), Suika Shibutani (1,064) and Brooklyn Bradley (1,056).
Ironwomen. Seven Thunderbirds have started all 15 matches: Bradley, Hansen, Shibutani, Tebbs, Trout, Woodbury and Yasuda.
Cedar City's own. Tebbs, a junior defender from Cedar City and Cedar High School, has 45 career appearances, the most by a Cedar City native in program history. Her 37 career starts rank second among Cedar City natives behind Rachael Hunt's 40 (2020-22). Starting each of SUU's three remaining regular-season matches would tie Hunt in the Nov. 5 finale in Cedar City. Tebbs leads the team in minutes and has played every minute of 12 of SUU's 15 matches.
Three in a row? O'Malley has scored in back-to-back matches. A goal Thursday would make her the first Thunderbird this season to score in three straight matches.
On the road. SUU won 1-0 at South Carolina State on Aug. 14 and 1-0 at The Citadel on Aug. 17, and it took a point with a 0-0 draw at Idaho State on Oct. 8. A win Thursday would be SUU's first Big Sky road win since a 2-0 victory at Sacramento State on Oct. 24, 2021.
Climbing the charts. SUU's 27 goals tie the 2010 team for the fourth-most in a season in program history. One more would tie the 2011 and 2015 teams (28) for the second-most; the record is 31, set in 2022. The Thunderbirds' 23 assists are the most since the 2022 team's 25, and their five shutouts are one shy of the 2005 and 2007 teams (6) for the second-most in a season. SUU is 4-0-1 when it does not allow a goal and 4-0-1 when it outshoots its opponent.
First-year head coach. Steven Lindquist is 4-8-3 in his first season as a head coach. SUU's four wins are its most in a season since the 2022 team won nine, when Lindquist was an assistant on staff. A win Thursday would be his first Big Sky road win as a head coach.
Scouting the Eagles
Eastern Washington is 6-5-2 overall and 0-3-1 in the Big Sky. The Eagles opened the season with five straight wins, four by shutout, and beat Oregon State 2-1 on Sept. 25. They have lost three straight in league play, falling 3-2 to Weber State at home and 1-0 at Northern Arizona and Northern Colorado. EWU has not played since Oct. 11.
EWU has 15 goals in 13 matches and has scored twice in four Big Sky matches. Junior forward Mia Miconi of Ogden, Utah, leads the Eagles with three goals and seven points, and redshirt senior midfielder Deanna Montero also has three goals. EWU leads the Big Sky with 77 corner kicks.
Sophomore goalkeeper Payton Hyde has played every minute in goal, with 74 saves, five shutouts, a 1.00 goals-against average and a .851 save percentage. She leads the Big Sky with 5.69 saves per match and ranks second in save percentage. Missy Strasburg is EWU's head coach.
Series History
Eastern Washington leads the all-time series 8-2-2, and both SUU wins came in Cheney. The Thunderbirds are 2-4 at Eastern Washington and 0-4-2 against the Eagles in Cedar City.
SUU's largest win in the series came 3-0 in Cheney on Oct. 25, 2013. Nancy Brich and Madison Wood scored in the first half, each off a Chandler Yost assist, and Shelby Green added a free-kick goal in the 82nd minute. Tessa Christensen made three saves for the shutout.
The Thunderbirds' most recent win in the series came 1-0 in Cheney on Oct. 18, 2015. Logan Harker scored on a breakaway at 49:35, and goalkeeper Taylor Bolding made 10 saves, SUU's single-match high that season, to protect the shutout.
The Eagles are 5-0-2 against SUU since. The teams tied 1-1 in Cedar City on Aug. 29, 2024, and EWU won 2-1 in Cheney in the most recent meeting on Aug. 17, 2025. SUU has scored in each of the last two meetings after being shut out in four straight from 2017-21. The highest-scoring match in the series was a 3-3 double-overtime draw in Cedar City on Oct. 14, 2016.
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