In a heated battle at home against Cal Baptist, SUU allowed two late goals in a tough loss.
Both teams began the match with a great scoring chance, starting with the visiting Lancers hitting the post in the third minute.
SUU had an opportunity of its own in the 10th minute, but Ashley Rivera’s shot was saved by the Cal Baptist ‘keeper, Noa Schumacher.
The game was back-and-forth in the remaining minutes of the opening half, but the T-birds created more quality chances.
Even as the home side tallied four shots and two corner kick opportunities, the match headed to halftime in a 0-0 deadlock.
Second half
The second half played out much like the first, as both teams had opportunities, but SUU looked to be the team in more control of possession.
Whitney Gardner had multiple chances to put the T-birds in front, registering shots that were saved by CBU in the 61st and 71st minutes.
Gardner followed up with another shot attempt in the 75th minute that was blocked. It was a controversial moment, however, as Gardner went down injured and appeared to be fouled in the box. No penalty was awarded, and the match continued.
SUU was handed an advantage in the 81st minute, as Cal Baptist’s McKenna Ray was given a red card and sent off, leaving the visitors down a player.
While the T-birds were unable to take advantage of the free kick just outside the box following the ejection, they continued to push to get a goal.
A few minutes later it appeared SUU would have another chance to score, as a shot was fired into the box. While it was blocked, it appeared to be a handball on a Lancers defender. The call was again not given for the home side, and just moments later Cal Baptist was given a penalty kick on the other end.
The Lancers scored, taking the 1-0 lead in the 87th minute. The visitors immediately added another goal just 23 seconds later, sealing a 2-0 victory.
A missed opportunity
“You know, to give up an 87th-minute PK is painful,” SUU head coach Kai Edwards said after the match.
“We played well against a conference tournament team (in 2022) that’s probably a conference tournament team again this year. Through GCU, Cal Baptist, and Utah Tech last year we had one point, so we’re holding the status quo, to be honest. Now we have to do our job and take care of the Texas teams,” he added.
SUU had multiple opportunities to get on the scoreboard in the match but was unable to do so. They led the game in total shots (8-6), shots on goal (6-3), and corner kicks (7-3).
“You have to give credit to their (Cal Baptist) keeper, she’s a first-team all-league goalkeeper for a reason,” Edwards said of the T-birds being shutout.
“There are sometimes where we lacked discipline in the final third, and that’s on me. I’m in charge of the forward group and we need to get sharper on that for Thursday to be able to score. And then sometimes we put in quality chances and their all-conference goalie made saves,” Edwards added.
The loss drops SUU to 0-7-5 overall, including 0-2-1 in WAC play.
A physical match
The game between conference foes was a physical one.
While the Lancers picked up a red card with around 10 minutes to play, it wasn’t the only caution of the match. In total, there were four yellow cards and a red for Cal Baptist, while SUU picked up a yellow card caution to begin the second period. Between the two sides, 17 fouls were called – 11 for the Lancers and six for the T-birds.
“It’s not our strength, but I thought we lived up to it and showed if the game gets into that we can play. And that is good because it’s important in conference where you never know if a referee is going to allow the game to play a bit or not,” Coach Edwards noted of the game’s physicality.
“We have to be successful no matter what, but I think we grew up a bit. Cal Baptist and Grand Canyon in a weekend is tough and the score is what it is, and the results are what they are but we got better this weekend. Now we have to go be good in Texas,” he added.
Up next
The T-birds will now head to Texas for a pair of games against WAC foes as they continue to look for their first win of 2023.
SUU will first face The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) before battling Stephen F. Austin. Last season, the T-birds were victorious over both teams.
“This is the important one,” Edwards said of the match against UTRGV.
“We’ve played three teams that were in the conference tournament from last year, so if we have the goal of getting there, then the game against Rio Grande Valley is everything,” he added.
The match against UTRGV will take place on Thursday, October 5 at 5:30 p.m. MT. SUU will then face the Lumberjacks on Sunday, October 8 at 11 a.m. MT.
Both games can be seen on ESPN+.
