newsletter #3

In this issue

Conference play begins!!

Portland you did us wrong The team came into the opening weekend with some confidence. We were riding high after some wins in Texas. Unfortunately we had a string of bad luck that taxed our system maybe more than we realized. The flight snafu coming out of Texas and then some ill-timed foul weather forced the team to miss a critical practice day leading into the weekend.

Not to be deterred, we still felt great about our chances and played the Vikings very tough. As the whistle blew for a PK in overtime, I think you could almost grasp the energy seeping out of our players. They had left it all on the line and to lose in such a manner was not something that you shake right away. But this is a team of champions and we looked ahead to Sac.

Portland / Sac Away games

Montana Away game Equally heart-wrenching loss in Missoula after scoring a hard fought goal with 11 mins left

UND / UNC Home games Two of the most exciting games played in the history of SUU soccer! Plenty of drama in these two.

O C T O B E R 2 0 1 5 I S S U E # 3

Game on! Conference play began on September 25th with a game against Portland State and moved on to Sacramento for a game on the 27th.

For those of you with short memories you will remember that the team narrowly missed the playoffs last year after posting a final record of 4-4-2.

This year’s squad boasts a majority of returners after graduating just 4 players last season. The most revamped line on the field has been our defensive unit, often times starting 4 freshmen as we searched for the right combination of players.

The return of Jessica French off an injured ankle and the resurgence of Aurora Moberly have solidified the backline and we are looking at a perfect blend of youth and experience as we head into the heart of our conference schedule.

A heart-wrenching loss in overtime to Portland and a lopsided, yet deceptive, loss to Sac State

THUNDERBIRD SOCCER OCTOBER 2015

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Sacramento State This school has always been a thorn in the side of

the Thunderbirds. Both times I have been there

with the team we’ve played less than our best

Tale of the set piece Heading into this game the staff had a suspicion about our

prowess, or more accurately our lack of prowess on set pieces, and Sacramento sure took advantage of this flaw. 3 goals were scored from dead balls. We have since practiced this A

LOT and you are sure to see far fewer goals scored on the Thunderbirds this way. The players have responded to the

challenge wonderfully and we’re proud of the turnaround.

Despite the mistakes made on set pieces, the team played

some absolutely INSPIRED soccer in the second half of the game battling back ferociously and showing some ‘never say

die’ mentality that will serve this team well in the long run –

and in fact already has *spoiler alert

Portland State The team took the night after the game to explore downtown Portland. As everybody who has ever been there

knows, this is an awesome town. We are really fortunate

to be able to visit such cool places and give the girls an opportunity to do cool things. Known for its coffee shops

and food trucks, the players found all sorts of cool things to do while walking around in the city

Sacramento State A lot of things went awry in Sac more than just on the field in the game. When we showed up to practice the day before

the game, the gates were locked, there was no water and no ice. We weren’t sure if this was mind games or if we should

give them the benefit of the doubt. But we were all able to squeeze through a gap in the fence and got our practice time

in!

Second chances

Off-field shenanigans


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On the road again, just can't wait to get on the road again! The life I love is playin’ soccer with my friends, and I can't wait to get on the road again!

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Pocatello native, Chandler Yost got to stop by and catch up with some old friends. Plus we got to grab some local coffee before hitting the road. We always try to eat local whenever possible!

On our bus trips you can always find that a few staple events will happen:

1. the girls will study

2. there will be a dance party

3. many naps will happen

4. and we will enjoy a movie… or three

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month

The team supported an effort by the Canyon Creek

Women’s Crisis Center to raise money

We tabbed this event as our opportunity to be “women helping women”. Being in college is an opportunity to grow in many ways and community service is a big part of that process.

The CCWCC does an annual event to raise funds for the shelter, while also raising awareness about the important services that it provides relative to the public health issues of domestic violence and helping to make the community safer for everyone. Participating restaurants donated a portion of their proceeds from the entire day to the CCWCC.

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Our Montana trip somehow seemed to be the perfect capping off of a long season of road trips. So with that in mind we kicked off the trip with some Willie Nelson, “On The Road Again”. Which frankly I am shocked anybody on the team would have known about this golden oldie J This team never ceases to amaze me though, so of course a 20 year old young lady has some Willie Nelson on their ipod.

Despite the long distance haul, it seemed like the trip went by quick. We broke it up by stopping in Pocatello, which ended up being nice because a former Thunderbird, and


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Get to know the players … Devri “STIX” Hartle

Abbie Flandro What is your major? Biology Why did you choose SUU? Because the campus was beautiful and I like that it's a small school Who was your childhood idol? My mom What is your favorite sport to play besides soccer? Volleyball What is your favorite movie? Cloudy with a chance of meatballs What is your favorite TV show? Greys anatomy What are three things that most people don't know about you? I love animals and I love doing service for other people Give us three things from your bucket list: Paragliding, hot air balloon ride, have a monkey

Summer Soriano

Taylor “TJ” Thompson *I am majoring in pre-nursing. *I chose SUU because it has a great nursing program and is in a great location; there is so much to do! *In my free time I like to hang out with friends, watch Netflix, and eat. *My childhood idol was my mom! *My favorite sport to play besides soccer is volleyball or snowboarding. *My favorite movie The Best Of Me and my favorite TV show is One Tree Hill. *I don't have any hidden talents! *Three things on my bucket list: Go to South America Play beach soccer Run a marathon

What is your major? Elementary Education Why did you choose SUU? A strong education program, and I wanted to see and experience a new area for college What do you like to do in your free time? I’ll attempt to draw or paint, sleep, or listen to music Who was your childhood idol? My mom What is your favorite sport to play besides soccer? Basketball because I love watching my brothers games when I can What is your favorite movie? School of Rock What is your favorite TV show? The Office Three things people don’t know about you: I was born on the first day of summer, I have 2 younger brothers, I have never gotten a card in soccer in my life! Give us three things from your bucket list: Visit the Philippines, conquer my extreme fear of rollercoasters, and make a significant impact in someone’s life

What is your major? Psychology Why did you choose SUU? For soccer, the campus, and academics What do you like to do in your free time? Eat, laugh and dance Who was your childhood idol? Mia Hamm all the way What is your favorite sport to play besides soccer? Volleyball What is your favorite movie? The Longest Ride What is your favorite TV show? Vampire Diaries Do you have any hidden talents? I’m a way good dancer What are three things that most people don't know about you? I’ve never seen most of the classic Disney movies, I am obsessed with Christmas music, I did Irish Dancing until I was 13 Give us three things from your bucket list: Dig with a really big tractor, go on a humanitarian trip out of the country, meet Kelley O’Hara or another member of the US women’s team &/or go to a World Cup game


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Best games you have ever been to!! Overtime thriller and winning with 10 players

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NORTHERN COLORADO

We get asked about rival teams from time to time and for some reason people think UNC is a rival school. It isn’t a rival school per se, we just seem to genuinely dislike each other, and we have a handful of players from “their” state. It makes for contentious games, that much I know for sure.

This match was to be no different.

The statistics only tell part of the story. They will tell you that SUU fouled 21 times and had 3 yellow cards, with one player on the receiving end of 2 of those cards – meaning an automatic ejection from the game. UNC had a meager 8 fouls called against them. The other part of that tale we are prohibited from discussing, as disparaging comments towards officials are generally frowned upon.

But the fact of the matter remains that the Thunderbirds absolutely put together a performance for the ages. They battled everything that was thrown their way and came out on top. To play for 20 minutes a player down shows character, grit, determination and belief in the other players on the field. I don’t even think we missed a beat. Everybody on the field put their head down and worked and the players on the bench did everything in their power to make up for the disadvantage.

It was a total team effort to win the game and the game winning goal couldn’t have been sweeter. Jessica French and Ally Thimson connected to score the goal. It is made all the sweeter when you consider that both players have missed significant time on the field due to injury. Jess sat the whole first part of the season with a badly twisted ankle suffered training this summer with hopes for a national team bid. Ally ironically sat out with an ankle injury also, missing the team trip to Montana and playing at about 70% in Texas, Portland, and Sacramento.

But those 2 embody the warrior mentality that defines this team. At any one point we have players gutting it out. Kristy Johnson is battling injury, Katie Jones is back from a bad knee sprain, Kenzie Bell is a walking list of issues …. The list is long but it doesn’t faze our players at

all. They are true champions!

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NORTH DAKOTA

North Dakota is one of the most improved teams in the conference. They have made big improvements and it was a game that couldn’t be taken lightly. They were riding a confidence high after going 2-1 in their opening games. Confident teams are dangerous teams and they also happen to have a very very skilled freshman goalkeeper.

We came out and just pummeled them in the first half. We’ve been toying with a new formation and it paid off in this half. It felt like it was all SUU for the whole half. Unfortunately we didn’t have anything to show for it going into half time.

We came out in the second half and UND was a team rejuvenated. They actually scored the first goal and it was only 1 of 2 shots that were on frame the entire game!! Soccer can be cruel that way.

So we had them on the ropes the entire game, but yet were losing 0-1. The clock kept ticking down and we just couldn’t get a shot to fall. We had several goal scoring opportunities called back by the official, and one called back where the ball was in the actual net. Yet all that mattered was we still had zero goals that officially counted.

Incredibly we still hadn’t scored when the clock moved from counting the minutes, to counting down the seconds. And this entire time the team battled, fought, attacked and refused to give up the game. With less than 10 seconds on the clock, Logan Harker was battling on the sideline with a player. She got a slim window of opportunity and fired off a cross. Payton Bonino muscled her defender as the girl went up to clear it and as the clock ticked from 6 to 5 to 4 seconds, the ball ricocheted off the UND defender and into the net. GOOOOAALLL

It was an absolutely indescribable feeling to get that goal with just 4 ticks on the clock. It was a deserved goal.

But the game proved to be just as cruel in the overtimes and although we dominated, we just couldn’t score and we walked away tied 1-1.

Come play with us!!! We are always looking for players who fit the mold of an SUU

Thunderbird. Traits of our players include: hardworking, smart,

dedicated, selfless, kind, trusting, and determined. We place an emphasis

on selecting players who fit in on our team on AND off the field. This is

a “no drama” team. This collection of young women will become friends

for life. Bonded by common characteristics and on field

achievements. We only want players who want to

be here. It takes a special person to play Division I

college soccer. Time management, organization,

dedication and perseverance are some other

characteristics you must have to succeed. If you think

you have what it takes – SEE YOU AT CAMP!

College ID Camp ~December 5th


The next College ID Camp date has been released. It is a one-day collection of events to showcase the skills and talents of the players. We put you through a challenge course to test your communication and leadership skills. There is also a physical evaluation to analyze your speed, strength, agility and power. This is not a fluff camp. Each session is run by our staff. Head coach Becky Hogan is the first and only USSF A licensed female coach in the entire state of Utah. She is a former professional player, was a member of the U-19 National team pool, and was the captain of the #5 nationally ranked University of Nebraska Cornhuskers. Her experience in unparalleled in the state. Come and participate to gain valuable feedback to shape your game moving forward.

www.thundersoccercamps.com

newsletter #3

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