FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (September 22, 2024) – Lumberjack soccer (0-4-4) returned to action Sunday afternoon, earning their second-consecutive shutout performance, finishing with a 0-0 tie alongside Southern Utah (2-5-3).
"We're feeling great defensively, very organized and we're not making those game-changing mistakes now," head coach
Alan Berrios said. "I think we created a lot today, we were the better team and it's hard to play teams that are playing for the draw, but I am happy that we're playing a better brand of soccer and now everybody starts over with zeros and it's game on in conference play."
As NAU grabbed its fourth draw of non-conference play, the Thunderbirds picked up their fifth of the regular season. Five Lumberjacks played a full-90 minutes on the pitch today in
Trinity Corcoran,
Olivia Bos,
Holly Hunter,
Erin O'Connor,
Joey Lujan, and
Madisyn Marchesi.
McKenzie Coleman and
Kayla Shebar led in minutes off the bench with 29 a piece.
Southern Utah took the field today without leading scorer Whitney Gardner, struggling to create offensive opportunities without the missing field player as the Thunderbirds would finish the match with a total of five shots on frame to test Corcoran and the back line.
Coleman led NAU with two shots through the first 45 minutes of play, putting one on goal while
Deniah Wells and
Valerie Llamas each recorded a shot on frame as well. The Lumberjack defense faced three first-half corner kicks, continuing to hold strong on opponent set pieces and keep things scoreless at the break while Corcoran tabbed three stops.
Coming out of halftime with urgency, NAU began to apply pressure to the Southern Utah defense quickly, looking to break open scoring in Lumberjack Stadium. The pressure would allow Northern Arizona to find more offensive opportunity, as the Lumberjacks put up 12 second-half shots, ending the match with a season-high 19 total.
Corcoran earned her second shutout of the season while picking up four saves through the match.
Avery Ott, Llamas, and Coleman closed out the match with a team-high three shots each, as Llamas led with two on frame.
The Jacks will head into conference play with back-to-back shutouts added to their resume, heading to 2024 Big Sky Soccer Tournament host Montana for a Sept. 29 matchup in Missoula with the Griz. To stay up to date with NAU Soccer, follow the Jacks on X, Instagram, and Facebook.
