The UCCS Mountain Lions’ women’s soccer team expanded their winning record of 5-2 in October with a recent 3-0 shutout win over the New Mexico Highlands Cowgirls at home, followed by a 4-1 triumph over the Adams State Grizzlies in Alamosa, CO.
Their two wins during the week of Oct. 17 helped the Mountain Lions improve to 12-3 overall on the season and 7-2 in the RMAC.
The Mountain Lions’ home match against New Mexico Highlands University was headlined by the backlines of UCCS, as they did not allow a single shot from the Cowgirls through the first 77 minutes of the match. The Mountain Lions had 21 attempted shots, while the Cowgirls had just 1 when the final whistle was blown.
“Our defense is always pretty solid with [redshirt junior midfield Katie] Puchino right in the middle, she’s been phenomenal every single game. They put up a really solid game once again,” freshman forward Sydney Lasater said.
“I felt I played alright, I think it was a tough game because we were playing lower skills than we were used to, but I’m very happy with getting the shutout,” Puchino said.
After 30 minutes of controlled gameplay with neither team getting a shot toward the opposing goalkeeper in the first 15, the Mountain Lions broke the game open when a corner kick from Lasater led to a Cowgirls own-goal, giving UCCS the lead in the first half.
“I was typically a pretty high performer in high school soccer, so I’m just still trying to get into the groove of things. This is definitely a game to put under my feet, it was super exciting,” Lasater said.
Following the halftime break, the Mountain Lions tacked on an extra two goals from freshman forward Jadyn Ledoux and freshman midfield Natalie Wilson in the final 18 minutes of the contest, closing the door on a potential Cowgirls comeback.
“I made the most of my time on the field, getting a goal off of it, and as a freshman, it feels amazing,” Wilson said. “When you’re not playing against the greatest of teams, it’s kind of hard to play to your best level.”
In the following match against the Adams State University Grizzlies, the Mountain Lions scored four goals in the first 52 minutes, their fastest to that mark of the year. Redshirt sophomore forward Kaitlin Hinkle recorded two of the team’s first three goals.
The Mountain Lions are on their longest win streak against Adams State in team history, defeating them for a fifth straight match, and on their 10th win all-time versus the Grizzlies.
UCCS now enters their final stretch of the season on the road for two games against Regis University on Oct. 28 and Colorado Christian on Oct. 31, before finishing their season at home on Nov. 3 against Colorado State Pueblo, a team that they have not lost to since 2016.
“We’re going to continue to practice hard and play the best that we can, we can’t slow down for a second,” Wilson said.
“We just have to stay focused, and we have to keep our heads on the main goal of winning the RMAC tournament,” Puchino said.
The RMAC tournament is slated to begin on Nov. 7, running until the championship match from Nov. 13 to Nov. 14.
