Southern Utah opens a two-match Big Sky road swing Thursday at Eastern Washington, then visits Idaho on Sunday. The Thunderbirds lead the conference in goals, assists and points, but sit seventh in the standings and are chasing a spot in the conference tournament. The trip also brings Spokane natives Dakota Hansen and Reese Peterson close to home.

By the Numbers
  • SUU is 4-8-3 overall and 1-3-2 in Big Sky play, with 5 points.
  • The Thunderbirds lead the Big Sky with 27 goals, 23 assists and 77 points.
  • Ashlyn O’Malley has 5 goals, including all 3 of SUU’s goals in conference play.
  • Goalkeeper Tatum Trout has 34 saves in conference matches and a .872 save percentage.
  • Eastern Washington is 6-5-2 overall and 0-3-1 in the Big Sky; it leads the conference with 77 corner kicks.
Yes, But

SUU’s attacking production has not yet translated into a strong conference position: the Thunderbirds have one league win and are coming off a 2-1 loss to Northern Colorado. Eastern Washington has lost three straight conference matches, but leads the all-time series 8-2-2 and has gone unbeaten in its last seven meetings with SUU.

State of Play
  • Thursday’s game at Eastern Washington starts at 3 p.m. PT (4 p.m. MT); SUU visits Idaho Sunday at 2 p.m. MT.
  • SUU is tied on points with sixth-place Idaho, its next opponent.
  • Both of SUU’s wins over Eastern Washington came in Cheney, including the teams’ last meeting there in 2015.
What’s Next

SUU will look to turn its conference-leading attack into points on the road and strengthen its position in the race for a conference tournament spot. A win Thursday would be the program’s first Big Sky road victory since 2021.

Bottom Line

The Thunderbirds have the conference’s most productive offense, but their postseason push hinges on converting that output into results against two teams ahead of them in the standings.