CEDAR CITY, Utah – Southern Utah Women's Soccer returns to a familiar conference this week as the Thunderbirds open Big Sky play with a pair of matches at Thunderbird Soccer Field.
Southern Utah will welcome Montana to Cedar City on Thursday, Oct. 1 at 4 p.m. MT, before closing the opening weekend of conference action against Portland State on Sunday, Oct. 4 at 11 a.m. MT.
The week marks Southern Utah's first Big Sky Conference matches since the 2021 season. The Thunderbirds competed in the league from 2012-21 before spending the past four seasons in the Western Athletic Conference.
Head Coach Steven Lindquist said:
"We have been looking forward to getting into Big Sky play, and having the opportunity to open conference at home makes it even more exciting," Lindquist said. "Montana and Portland State will both present different challenges, and we know the intensity goes up when conference play begins. Our focus is continuing to build on the things we've done well, learning from the non-conference portion of our schedule and competing for each other for 90 minutes. We're excited to get started and see where we can take this group."
WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Thursday, Oct. 1
Who: Southern Utah vs. Montana
Where: Thunderbird Soccer Field | Cedar City, Utah
When: 4 p.m. MT
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats: SUUTBirds.com
Sunday, Oct. 4
Who: Southern Utah vs. Portland State
Where: Thunderbird Soccer Field | Cedar City, Utah
When: 11 a.m. MT
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats: SUUTBirds.com
BACK TO THE BIG SKY
Thursday represents more than the start of conference play for Southern Utah. It begins a new chapter in a familiar league.
The Thunderbirds were members of the Big Sky for a decade from 2012-21 and return to the conference for the 2026 season. SUU's conference slate includes nine matches across six weeks, with five contests taking place at Thunderbird Soccer Field.
Lindquist will lead the Thunderbirds into their first Big Sky campaign of his tenure after taking charge of the program ahead of the 2026 season.
THUNDERBIRDS AT A GLANCE
Southern Utah enters conference play with a 3-5-1 overall record following a non-conference schedule that took the Thunderbirds from South Carolina to Salt Lake City, Sacramento and Boise.
SUU opened the season with consecutive 1-0 road victories against South Carolina State and The Citadel. The Thunderbirds also earned a home victory against Justice College and battled CSUN to a 2-2 draw at Thunderbird Soccer Field.
Southern Utah has scored 24 goals through nine matches while putting 62 of its 98 shots on frame. Opponents have combined for 13 goals and 46 shots on goal.
Gracen Blieschke enters Big Sky play leading the Thunderbird attack with 11 points, recording four goals and three assists. She also leads SUU with 25 shots and 15 shots on goal.
The Thunderbirds have shown an ability to protect narrow advantages as well. SUU posted consecutive clean sheets against South Carolina State and The Citadel, winning each match 1-0.
SCOUTING MONTANA
Montana comes to Cedar City with a 2-6 overall record after completing its non-conference schedule with a 4-0 loss at Gonzaga on Sept. 20. The Grizzlies' two victories came at home against Lethbridge, 2-0, and MSU Billings, 2-1.
The record doesn't tell the entire story of the program Southern Utah will see Thursday.
Montana enters conference play as the defending Big Sky regular-season and tournament champion. The Grizzlies swept both titles in 2025 and earned the right to host this year's Big Sky Championship in Missoula. Montana has won each of the last three Big Sky regular-season championships.
Thursday will be the second meeting between the Thunderbirds and Grizzlies in as many seasons. Montana defeated Southern Utah 3-0 in Missoula in the 2025 season opener.
SCOUTING PORTLAND STATE
Portland State enters Big Sky play following a 2-7 non-conference campaign. The Vikings closed the non-conference portion of their schedule with a 1-0 victory against San Diego on Sept. 20.
Aliayha Saldana provided the difference in that match, scoring in the 44th minute as Portland State recorded its second victory of the season.
Portland State finished fourth in the Big Sky last season with a 3-3-2 conference record and returned 15 letterwinners for the 2026 campaign.
Southern Utah will look to build on last season's meeting between the programs.
The Thunderbirds defeated Portland State 3-2 on Sept. 21, 2025, at Thunderbird Soccer Field. SUU produced 13 shots, putting seven on goal, and recorded five assists on its three goals in the victory.
RECORDS WATCH
Tebbs Closing in on Cedar City History
Junior defender Rylan Tebbs enters the opening weekend of Big Sky play with 39 career appearances and 31 starts for the Thunderbirds.
That puts the Cedar City native within striking distance of a piece of hometown history.
Among the five verified Cedar City natives who have played for Southern Utah since the program began in 2001, Rachael Hunt currently owns the standard with 41 career appearances and 40 starts from 2020-22.
If Tebbs appears against Montana on Thursday, she will move to 40 career appearances, leaving her one shy of Hunt. An appearance against Portland State on Sunday would be Tebbs' 41st, tying Hunt for the most appearances by a Cedar City native in program history.
That would put Tebbs in position to take sole possession of the Cedar City appearances record in Southern Utah's following match.
Cedar City Career Appearances
| Player |
Seasons |
GP |
GS |
| Rachael Hunt |
2020-22 |
41 |
40 |
| Rylan Tebbs |
2024-Present |
39 |
31 |
| Julia Hunt |
2021-22 |
28 |
9 |
| Amanda Humphreys |
2011-12 |
27 |
3 |
| Michelle Dawson |
2001 |
16 |
16 |
Tebbs needs nine additional starts to tie Hunt's Cedar City record of 40 and 10 to break it.
Iron Woman: Tebbs Rarely Leaves the Field
Tebbs' value to the Thunderbirds has gone well beyond simply being in the starting lineup.
Through nine matches in 2026, Tebbs has played a team-leading 723 minutes, putting her ahead of Nao Yasuda (706), Tatum Trout (674) and Suika Shibutani (611).
Tebbs has started all nine matches this season.
Her workload becomes even more impressive when looking at the matches individually.
Outside of Southern Utah's match against Justice College, when the Thunderbirds went deep into the roster and Tebbs played 11 minutes, Tebbs has played every available minute of every SUU match this season.
That includes seven complete 90-minute performances as well as all 81:38 of Southern Utah's weather-shortened match at Utah.
Through nine matches, Southern Utah has played 801 minutes and 38 seconds of soccer. Tebbs has been on the field for approximately 90 percent of all available minutes.
Remove the Justice match from the equation and the number jumps to 100 percent — 711 minutes and 38 seconds played out of 711 minutes and 38 seconds available.
The trend isn't new.
As a freshman in 2024, Tebbs appeared in 15 matches with 13 starts and logged 1,059 minutes. She followed that with 918 minutes in 15 appearances and nine starts in 2025.
Combined with her 723 minutes this season, Tebbs has already accumulated 2,700 career minutes in a Southern Utah uniform.
Tebbs Career Breakdown
| Season |
GP |
GS |
Minutes |
| 2024 |
15 |
13 |
1,059 |
| 2025 |
15 |
9 |
918 |
| 2026 |
9 |
9 |
723 |
| Career |
39 |
31 |
2,700 |
With Big Sky play still ahead, Tebbs has already started as many matches in 2026 as she did during the entire 2025 season.
She needs 195 additional minutes to match her 2025 total of 918 and 336 additional minutes to reach her career-high 1,059 minutes from 2024.
Starting Every Time
Tebbs isn't alone in being a fixture in Lindquist's starting XI.
Five Thunderbirds have started all nine matches this season: Rylan Tebbs, Nao Yasuda, Suika Shibutani, Dakota Hansen and Tatum Trout.
Among that group, Tebbs leads the way with 723 minutes.
Blieschke Leads the Attack
On the attacking side, Gracen Blieschke enters conference play leading Southern Utah with 11 points on four goals and three assists.
She also leads the Thunderbirds with 25 shots and 15 shots on goal, putting 60 percent of her attempts on frame.
Blieschke's four goals lead the team, while her three assists are tied with Keira Barker for the team lead.
Memory Making Them Count
Sophia Memory has scored three goals this season, with two standing as game-winners.
That gives Memory the team lead in game-winning goals entering Big Sky play. Blieschke has SUU's other game-winner.
Memory has also made efficient use of her opportunities, putting six of her eight shots on goal and scoring three times.
Trout Coming Off Career-Best Save Total
Freshman goalkeeper Tatum Trout enters Big Sky play following the busiest performance of her young career.
Trout made nine saves at Boise State, the highest single-match save total by a Thunderbird this season.
She has started all nine matches and logged 674 minutes in goal. Trout and the Southern Utah goalkeeping unit have helped the Thunderbirds record three shutouts through the first nine matches.
HOME SWEET HOME
The opening weekend gives Southern Utah an opportunity to begin its return to the Big Sky without leaving Cedar City.
Thursday and Sunday's matches begin a conference schedule that gives the Thunderbirds five home contests. Following this weekend, SUU travels to Idaho State and Weber State before returning to Thunderbird Soccer Field to host Northern Arizona and Northern Colorado.
With two matches at Thunderbird Soccer Field to begin the conference slate, Southern Utah will look to establish some early momentum before heading back on the road.
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