On Oct. 26, Women’s Soccer hosted their final regular season game. While senior day is important in its own right, the game doubled as Make-A-Wish day, making the game all the more special.
Entrance to the game was free and rather than buying tickets, fans were encouraged to make donations to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
“We want to try to be great in the classroom, be great on the field, and be great serving in our communities. It’s a three-step process to being a student athlete in Division II and Make-A-Wish is one of those organizations that so many of us in collegiate athletics support,” Head Coach J.B. Belzer said.
The Mountain Lions dominated their last two themed games, with a 1-0 victory over Fort Lewis in the Storm the Stadium game, and a 3-0 win over 25th-ranked Regis in the Breast Cancer Match.
The team’s ability to shift to a new gear during theme nights is no coincidence. They take pride in being able to perform in these games that are important to the community.
“When you know that you’ve got a theme or something that’s going to engage our student body and our faculty and our staff and the community, you just have to rise to the occasion,” Belzer said.
Rise to the occasion they did, as the Mountain Lions put up one of their more impressive performances this season with a 4-0 win over Adams State.
It was none other than the leading scorer in the RMAC, redshirt sophomore Abby Stassi, who delivered a goal in the 36th minute to open up the scoreboard and give UCCS a 1-0 lead headed into halftime.
In the second half, Stassi was unstoppable, scoring in the 61st and again two minutes later in the 63rd would put the game out of reach.
Senior Emily Aguilar would not leave her final regular-season home game empty-handed though, punching one through in the 77th to make it 4-0 Mountain Lions.
Aguilar is one of two seniors on the roster, but that didn’t stop the team from playing their hearts out to honor the seniors on their team.
“You want to give those student athletes that have poured themselves into their program, their teammates, their coaches, that special moment to be honored, to be celebrated, to be appreciated. That’s what senior days and nights are all about,” Belzer said.
For those keeping track at home, the combined score of the theme nights for women’s soccer this season was 8-0, with that last win being the most impressive of the bunch.
Senior night might have been the shot of momentum UCCS needed as the team travels to take on Colorado Mesa on Oct. 30, at 7 p.m.
This one-versus-two showdown in the RMAC could have serious implications for who gets to host the conference tournament. While hosting the tournament would be an honor, it is just the first step in the goals coach Belzer has set for the team.
“Our goal isn’t just to qualify, our goal is to win it. Our goal is to go to the NCAA tournament and win the South Central region, what we call the treble,” Belzer said.
Watch this conference juggernaut showdown and follow along with the championship tournament on the RMAC Network through one of their subscription plans or pay-per-view options.