OPENING KICKOFF: Snow College women's soccer faces Pacific Northwest Christian College, currently holding a 0-4-0 record, Thursday at 2:00 p.m. MDT. The Badgers will then take on North Idaho College, with a 1-2-1 record, Saturday at 12:00 p.m. MDT.

The Badgers, ranked No. 10 in the NJCAA Division I Women's Soccer Rankings, enter these games after splitting their matches over the weekend. They earned a 4-0 win over Colorado Northwestern Community College but fell 4-1 to Salt Lake Community College. Snow College's overall record now stands at 4–2-0, with a 2-1-0 mark in Scenic West Athletic Conference play.

KNOW YOUR FOE: The Badgers have played PNWCC four times since the gladiators joined the SWAC in 2023. The Badgers have scored 10 goals or more in all four meetings and have never surrendered a goal to PNWCC.

In those four games, Snow College has recorded 129 shots on goal, converting 49 of them into scores. The Gladiators have yet to score against the Badgers.

PNWCC enters Thursday's match with an 0-6-0 overall record and an 0-3-0 mark in conference play. Most recently, the Gladiators lost 4-0 to Truckee Meadows Community College and 8-0 to the College of Southern Idaho. In their latest match, they made 13 saves on 21 shots faced but did not record a shot of their own.

Following Thursday's match, the Badgers will turn their attention to NIC Saturday. Snow College holds a 3-0 all-time record against the Cardinals, having won all three meetings last season by scores of 3-0, 2-0, and 4-0.

In their most recent meeting, the Badgers outshot the Cardinals 21-3, with 13 shots on goal, while limiting the Cardinals' offensive opportunities throughout the match.

NIC enters the weekend with a 3-2-1 overall record and is currently on a three-game winning streak. The Cardinals have recorded recent wins over PNWCC 5-0, TMCC 2-1, and CSI 1-0, and they are scheduled to play Utah State University Eastern Thursday ahead of Saturday's matchup with Snow College. 

LAST TIME OUT: The No. 10 Snow College women's soccer team earned a decisive 4-0 win over Colorado Northwestern Community College Thursday but fell 4-1 to No. 3 Salt Lake Community College Saturday. Both matches took place at the Snow College Soccer Complex in Ephraim.

In Thursday's matchup against CNCC, the Badgers extended their winning streak against the Spartans to 18 games with a commanding 4-0 shutout. Snow College controlled the pace from the opening whistle, allowing just four total shots, while generating 35 shots, 18 of which were on target.

The scoring began almost immediately, with Saige Meryhew finding the back of the net in the 1st minute, marking her fifth goal of the season. Snow College doubled their lead in the 37th minute, when Hallie Hansen converted a penalty kick, slotting it past the keeper into the bottom right corner of the net. 

Hansen struck again after the break, adding her second goal of the match and season, assisted by Brenna Arauzo. To cap off the performance, Adelle Grimley scored in the 85th minute off an assist from Carly Knudsen, sealing the clean sheet victory.

The top-10 match up against No. 3 SLCC was a fast-paced and physical contest. Snow College held its own throughout the match, maintaining possession at times and generating quality chances, but SLCC's direct, high-pressure style ultimately disrupted the Badgers' rhythm and proved difficult to counter.

Set pieces played a key role in the outcome. SLCC earned eight corner kicks and converted two of them into goals, while Snow College had just two and were unable to capitalize. 

The Bruins struck early, scoring in the seventh minute off a free kick from just outside the box to take a 1-0 lead. In the second half, SLCC continued to capitalize on set pieces. They added a second goal in the 75th minute off a corner kick, and a third in the 83rd minute, again from a corner.

Just seconds later the Badgers finally broke through in the 83rd minute as Brenna Arauzo scored off an assist from Kelsie Peterson. Two minutes later the Bruins countered and were able to put in the fourth goal in the 85th minute, securing the win.

Shot totals reflected the competitive nature of the match. SLCC recorded seven shots in the first half and six in the second, totaling 13. Snow College had three in the first half and 13 in the second, totaling 16 shots. The loss ended the Badgers three-game home winning streak and marked their first home loss to SLCC since 2021. The Badgers are now 4-2-0 overall and 2-1-0 in conference play.


UP NEXT: Next week, Snow College will go up against CSI Thursday at 1:00 p.m., which currently holds a 3-1-0 overall record. Then, the Badgers will face TMCC Saturday at 11:00 a.m., which holds a 0-2-0 overall record. For video streaming and live stats information, visit snowbadgers.com.