Sept. 24, 2009
LAS VEGAS -
UNLV weekly soccer notes
After a road trip to California where they earned a overtime tie at San Francisco and suffered a one-goal loss at Saint Mary's, the UNLV women's soccer team is happy to be back in Las Vegas for their next action, a home contest against Southern Utah on Saturday afternoon at 4 pm at Peter Johann Memorial Field. Though the Thunderbirds come in with a 2-5-1 mark, they had an impressive showing on Wednesday night, falling on the road at BYU 3-2.
The Rebels will be looking for the scoring touch they showed in their last two home contests, in which they posted two goals against now top-25 ranked Ohio State and another score in a tie against UC Irvine. This is the fourth all-time meeting between UNLV and Southern Utah, and the Rebels have won all four meetings. This is the first contest between the two since a 5-2 UNLV win in Las Vegas on Sept. 3, 2003.
Players To Watch
The offense thus far this year has come from senior midfielder Shannon Hughes, who has two goals, both are game-winners, with the second a penalty kick score against NC State on Sept. 3 in a 1-0 win. Freshman forward Collete Jepson has also scored twice this year to share the team lead with Hughes with four points. Junior midfielder Amanda Forrester is next with three points (one goal, one assist), while senior Jamie McCoy and sophomore Jenna Larkin each have on goal each.
Senior Alicia Lugo meanwhile has kept up her strong play in the nets. She has a 0.90 GAA and three shutouts, and leads the MWC with 51 saves.
Scouting Southern Utah
The Thunderbirds bring a 2-5-1 record into Saturday's contest, but are 2-1-1 after beginning the season with a four-game losing streak. The one loss in the last four games was on Wednesday night at BYU, a 3-2 setback in Provo.
Southern Utah features a very balanced attack, as nine players have scored between two to five points this year. Pacing the squad is Michelle Judd and Laura Goodrich, both with five points each off two goals and an assist. Breana Fitzgerald (1.56 GAA, 21 saves) and Charly Booth (2.05 GAA, 20 saves) have split the time in goal.
