Facing a former Big Sky Conference foe at home, the T-birds found a late goal to earn a draw against Eastern Washington on Thursday afternoon.
Both teams battled in the opening minutes, with each team tallying multiple shot attempts as they worked their way into the match.
It was the visitors that found a goal first, however, taking the lead in the 18th minute.
The score stayed the same until halftime, as the T-birds could not find the back of the net despite six shot attempts.
SUU came out in the second half looking to equalize, notching the first three shot attempts of the period, but could not find a goal.
While the two sides fought and the minutes ticked down, the Thunderbirds were able to break through in the 80th minute. Steph Roper sent a ball into the box, and a diving Whitney Gardner connected with the pass and sent the ball into the net to make it 1-1.
Whitney with the equalizer‼️
🦅: 1
⚡️: 1 pic.twitter.com/IGdzsUwKc9— SUU Soccer (@SUUSoccer) August 29, 2024
Each side tallied one more shot attempt in the final ten minutes, but the game remained level as the final whistle blew.
“We competed hard together. The team showed great spirit to come back versus a very good team. That is our first point since 2015 against Eastern Washington, so we are happy,” SUU head coach Kai Edwards said of the match.
The T-birds outshot the Eagles in the game (11-9), while Darya Mosallaei made five saves in goal for the home side.
Up next
Southern Utah (0-3-1) will have a week to prepare for its next match, as it hosts Mountain West member Colorado College on Thursday, September 5.
The match is set to kick off at 4 p.m. MT and can be seen on ESPN+.
