University of Colorado at Colorado Springs women's soccer coach Nichole Rick has been reluctant to use team's first-year status as an excuse. Through two games of its inaugural season, there've been no excuses necessary.
The Mountain Lions won for the second time in as many matches with a 1-0 victory over the University of Mary Marauders Saturday evening at Mountain Lion Stadium.
Amie Kern, the Mountain Lions' senior goalkeeper, had six saves to record her second shutout of the season.
"It's not just Amie; it's the entire defensive stand," said Rick. "It's the mentality that the defense makes it predictable for Amie. In other words, we make it so she will know where the offense is coming from."
Defenders
Lauren Hall,
Lindsay Link,
Kelby Petry and
Jelisa Guy consistently funneled the Marauder attackers into the corners, and then cut off avenues for an accurate crossing pass.
The match's lone goal came in the 17th minute. After working the ball through the midfield, the Mountain Lions shook
Jessica Escobedo free at the top of the goal box. Her shot hit the crossbar and caromed directly in front of the goal, where
Kristin Preble collected the ball and one-timed it into the lower right side of the goal.
UCCS controlled the ball for the greater portion of the first half as midfielder
Ashley Collins spent much of the period frustrating any Marauders. At the same time, the Mountain Lions' wings consistently won balls played down the sidelines.
"It was a combination of us winning the 50-50 balls and opening up the field," said Rick.
UCCS was forced to fight off an intense UM attack during the first 20 minutes of the second period. The Marauders had five shots and three corner kicks over that time, but Kern and the UCCS defense were able to keep the ball out of the net.
"Right off the bat, they were winning the 50-50 balls and moving much quicker than they did in the first half," said Rick. "I think that had something to do with our fatigue as well."
The Mountain Lions recovered nicely, though, holding the Marauders without a shot for nearly 23 minutes before yielding two non-threatening attempts in the final minutes.
Including the team's exhibition match, UCCS has not allowed a goal in its first 270 minutes.
