By Spencer Rodak, Stadium Sportzz
Playing the first match of a Texas road trip, SUU soccer picked up a valuable point in a 1-1 draw with Abilene Christian on Thursday night.
The T-birds controlled much of the opening half of the game, and it showed. In the 29th minute, Rylan Tebbs found a streaking Steph Roper, who laid a pass at the feet of Hailey Hamataka. Hamataka took it in stride and on the first touch, delivered a beautiful goal into the back of the net for the 1-0 lead.
Tebbs ➡️ Roper ➡️ Hama 🟰🤌🏼🤌🏼
🦅: 1
🐾: 0#TBirdNation ⚡️ #RaiseTheHammer pic.twitter.com/EAXTuwGu0G— SUU Soccer (@SUUSoccer) October 18, 2024
The Wildcats notched a couple of shot attempts near the end of the half, but SUU took the advantage into the break.
Also needing a positive result to keep its conference tournament hopes alive, ACU came out firing in the second period.
The Wildcats totaled 11 shot attempts and 9 corner kicks in the frame, putting constant pressure on the Southern Utah defense. Just past the hour mark, Abilene Christian found the equalizer, and the match would ultimately end in a 1-1 draw.
“A tie on the road keeps us in the hunt. Sunday is a must-win,” SUU head coach Kai Edwards said of the match.
Up next
SUU (2-8-5, 0-3-2 WAC) faces Tarleton State in its final road match of the season next.
The T-birds will battle the Texans on Sunday, Oct. 20 at 12 p.m. MT, while the match can be seen on ESPN+.