Thornton scores, Sutherland gets shutout in win at N'western
Posted: Thu Aug 22, 2019 10:27 pmFrom SMUMustangs.com:
Mustangs Start the Season With a Win Over Northwestern
EVANSTON, Ill. (SMU) – The Mustangs, who are receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll opened the season with a 1-0 win over a Northwestern team that made the 2018 NCAA Tournament on Thursday night.
"It was a really good result against a very competitive team," head coach Chris Petrucelli said. "The game was hard, but we played very well defensively and did just enough to get a goal and win the game."
Senior Allie Thornton scored SMU's (1-0-0) only goal in the shutout when a penalty kick was awarded to the Mustangs after junior Hannah Allred drew a foul in the box. The finish gave SMU an early lead in the 19th minute over Northwestern (0-1-0) that they were able to hold throughout the game.
Freshman Tatum Sutherland had a strong showing in the goal, with three saves in the game. Two of them came on back-to-back shot attempts from the Wildcats when Northwestern earned a chance to put a goal on the board in the 40th minute with a penalty kick of their own.
"Tatum was fantastic," Petrucelli said. "She saved the penalty and the rebound from the penalty … just very composed."
The second half of the game saw two shots from SMU and four from Northwestern, but neither team could put one away. Northwestern outshot the Mustangs, 9-4, throughout the match. The win extends SMU's season-opening victory streak to four.
The Mustangs will stay in Illinois for the remainder of the week to take on DePaul in Chicago on Sunday at 1 p.m. CT.
Mustangs Start the Season With a Win Over Northwestern
EVANSTON, Ill. (SMU) – The Mustangs, who are receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll opened the season with a 1-0 win over a Northwestern team that made the 2018 NCAA Tournament on Thursday night.
"It was a really good result against a very competitive team," head coach Chris Petrucelli said. "The game was hard, but we played very well defensively and did just enough to get a goal and win the game."
Senior Allie Thornton scored SMU's (1-0-0) only goal in the shutout when a penalty kick was awarded to the Mustangs after junior Hannah Allred drew a foul in the box. The finish gave SMU an early lead in the 19th minute over Northwestern (0-1-0) that they were able to hold throughout the game.
Freshman Tatum Sutherland had a strong showing in the goal, with three saves in the game. Two of them came on back-to-back shot attempts from the Wildcats when Northwestern earned a chance to put a goal on the board in the 40th minute with a penalty kick of their own.
"Tatum was fantastic," Petrucelli said. "She saved the penalty and the rebound from the penalty … just very composed."
The second half of the game saw two shots from SMU and four from Northwestern, but neither team could put one away. Northwestern outshot the Mustangs, 9-4, throughout the match. The win extends SMU's season-opening victory streak to four.
The Mustangs will stay in Illinois for the remainder of the week to take on DePaul in Chicago on Sunday at 1 p.m. CT.