Facing Abilene Christian in the first game of a two-match homestand, SUU came out on top with a 3-2 victory.
The match started off slowly, with neither team registering a shot attempt for nearly 15 minutes as they battled for possession control.
SUU would be the side to record the game’s first shot, and it was well worth the wait. The T-birds drew a foul just outside the box, setting up a set-piece chance. While the first shot was saved by the Wildcats, SUU’s Mayu Yamamoto followed it and fired it into the back of the net for the 1-0 lead.
If at first you don’t succeed… you know the rest 😏
Mayu puts SUU on 🔝 with this GOAL🔥
⚡️: 1
🐱: 0 pic.twitter.com/ER3JtIQaDb— SUU Soccer (@SUUSoccer) October 12, 2023
The advantage did not last long for the home team, however, with Abilene Christian finding the equalizer in the 18th minute.
Both teams battled for the remainder of the half with multiple scoring chances coming for each, but the match headed to halftime deadlocked at 1-1.
Second half
With the two sides deadlocked but in need of a victory, the pace of the match and the chances created increased in the second half.
The T-birds took advantage first, making the most of a mistake from Abilene Christian. Attempting to play out from the back, the Wildcats passed the ball back to a defender, who lost her footing and fell to the ground. SUU’s Steph Roper was waiting to pounce on the miscue, taking the ball away and sending it past the keeper for the 2-1 lead in the 58th minute.
First career-goal by Steph Roper 🔥
⚡️: 2
🐱: 1 pic.twitter.com/F1cpkIKHid— SUU Soccer (@SUUSoccer) October 12, 2023
Abilene Christian would not go away easily though, as they again tied the score with a goal of their own in the 61st minute.
A flurry of shots followed in the minutes after the pair of scores, but neither team could capitalize until the final moments. As the sides battled, it would once again be the T-birds taking the lead in the match. In the 85th minute, Abilene Christian’s goalie left the net exposed while trying to make a save. Ashley Rivera was there to find the loose ball for SUU, firing it into the goal for the 3-2 lead.
ASHLEY FOR THE LEAD 😱
⚡️: 3
🐱: 2 pic.twitter.com/NACesNaste— SUU Soccer (@SUUSoccer) October 12, 2023
The T-birds’ defense held firm for the final five minutes as the Wildcats recorded multiple shots – including one that hit the post – to secure the victory and three points in the conference standings.
An important result
“What a game. Two teams just competing. Some quality soccer, but just competing back and forth. We go up, they tie it, we go up, they tie it, we have to go again. We needed the post at the end, and the soccer gods paid us back for Sunday’s game,” SUU head coach Kai Edwards said of the match.
“You have someone like Hama (Hailey Hamataka) who was our starting midfielder last year but has been out injured for most of this year but had to step in and play 70 minutes today. The group stepped up,” Edwards added of the result.
SUU tallied more shots in the high-scoring affair, amassing 15 total shots (10 on target) to nine (five on target) for the Wildcats. Chiaki Takase and Whitney Gardner each recorded an assist for the T-birds.
Building momentum
The result gives Southern Utah its second win in three matches, improving the team’s record to 2-8-5 (2-3-1 WAC).
The win also means the T-birds have recorded seven points in WAC action, meaning (at the time of this writing) they hold the sixth and final qualifying spot for the conference tournament.
“You enjoy tonight and then after tonight, Tarleton is all that matters,” Edwards said.
“Tonight doesn’t matter, and I thought we did a good job at practice this week. SFA (Sunday’s match) was over and we had to get ready for Abilene. I think it’s the same thing with this game. How do you get ready for Tarleton because this game’s over, you enjoy it tonight because that’s what gets you going the next game and you stay focused on the next task that you have control over,” Edwards added.
Up next
Southern Utah now turns its attention to its final home match of the season. The T-birds will face off against Tarleton State, in need of a victory to improve their chances of a WAC Tournament berth.
“We need a quick start. Utah Tech is going to run them around today (Thursday), but Tarleton has a good coach. He’ll have them organized and sharp,” Coach Edwards said of the weekend’s important tilt.
“For us, the weather will probably be warmer than today, and I think it’s about going after people and playing with confidence. The phrase I gave them was ‘You’re playing for a conference championship spot. To play for that is from behind. To want it you have to play like a champion already’ and I thought that’s what we did today. We played like a team that was in the championship and like what we’d have to do to perform in it, not a team trying to get into it,” he added.
The T-birds and the Texans will battle on Sunday, Oct. 15 at 12 p.m. MT. The match can be seen on ESPN+.
