UCCS women’s soccer defeated Colorado Christian University, 2-1, in the RMAC quarterfinals on Nov. 10.
The victory advances the Mountain Lions to the RMAC Championship Tournament semifinals, where they will face number one seed Colorado School of Mines at their campus in Golden, Colorado.
“I feel confident with the girls in our team. We have been on a journey this year. [We] started not the best, but now we started finding our shape, and we are ready to play Mines,” said senior midfielder Fie Steenberg.
Colorado Christian University began the game with possession until UCCS began a lengthy offensive attack in the 6th minute with a corner kick. The Mountain Lions sent shot after shot toward the goal until freshman midfielder Casey Tadlock scored her first goal of her collegiate career in the 23rd minute.
The Mountain Lions had five additional shots after Tadlock’s goal, but Colorado Christian tied the game up with a goal in the 38th minute.
With pressure mounting, junior forward Jessica Rockwell passed the ball to freshman forward Brooke Pavlich, who kicked the ball over the fingertips of the Cougar’s goalkeeper and into the center of the net, bringing the score up to 2-1.
The second half was played under the lights and saw no goals. Freshman defender Malia Groshong, who appeared to injure her ankle in the 5th minute of play, returned in the starting lineup of the second half.
Both UCCS and Colorado Christian University had seven shots in the second half but no connections. The Mountain Lions freshman goalkeeper Alexa Malaspina recorded two saves in the game’s 90 minutes.
“We didn’t play the best, but a win, is still a win,” said Steenberg.
The RMAC semifinals against the top-ranked Colorado School of Mines will be streamed on the RMAC network on Nov. 14 at 1 p.m.