CEDAR CITY, Utah – Returning home after a two-match road trip, the SUU soccer team fell 3-1 to UNLV on Sunday afternoon.
The Thunderbirds would fall behind early when UNLV found the back of the net in the 13th minute.
Southern Utah would tally its first shot of the match in the 15th minute, recording three more throughout the final half hour as they pushed for an equalizer.
The score remained in favor of the Rebels heading into the halftime break, but SUU would tie it up right after the intermission.
Receiving the ball at midfield, Kyle Avery slotted a ball to Whitney Gardner, who sent it through to Sarah Assumma on the left side. Assumma took a few dribbles and unleashed a shot to the far post, beating the Rebels’ keeper to level the score at 1-1 in the 47th minute.
For nearly the next 30 minutes, the two sides battled it out, but the score remained deadlocked.
The 75th minute would prove to be the breaking point of the match, as UNLV would break through for the 2-1 lead. Ten minutes later, the visitors would make it 3-1, ending any chance of the Thunderbirds earning a result with only five minutes on the clock.
In the end, the Rebels would record the 3-1 victory, earning their first win of the season.
The defeat drops Southern Utah to 0-4-2 on the season.
“It was good to get the goal. Last year, I think we ended with five straight games without a goal, so going the last four or five with a goal, I thought, was good,” T-birds head coach Kai Edwards said post-match.
“It was good to see Sarah get off the snide. Whitney broke the record for assists, getting her points two games in a row. She’s really starting to feel it. Now it’s who is the third attacker? Who is going to step up and be that third attacker? Because we needed that second goal to win,” he added.
Gardner’s run continues
Registering an assist on Sarah Assumma’s goal, fifth-year senior Whitney Gardner moved into second all-time in the SUU record books in points (45), while moving alone into first place on the assists chart (13).
Gardner is just two points away from breaking the Thunderbirds’ all-time points record held by Stacey Brinkman. She is also four goals away from tying – and five from breaking – the all-time goals record of 20, held by Ally Thimsen.
Up next
Southern Utah (0-4-2) takes on regional foe Northern Arizona in Cedar City on Friday, Sept. 12.
The match will kick off at 4 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN+.
Photo courtesy of SUU Athletics.
