Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

UCCS Athletics

Team
Kirk Smith

PREVIEW | Women's Soccer set to Host First and Second Rounds of NCAA Tournament

11/20/2019 1:00:00 PM

By: Jake Wise - Athletic Communications Graduate Assistant
This Week's Games
  • The University of Colorado Colorado Springs women's soccer team has earned the #1 seed in the South-Central Region of the NCAA Tournament. As a result, UCCS will host the first and second rounds of the NCAA Regional.
  • On Sunday, November 24, UCCS will play the winner of the first-round matchup between #4 seed Texas Woman's University (TWU) and #5 seed Dixie State University (DSU) at 1 p.m. inside Mountain Lion Stadium.
  • The first-round matchup will be played on Friday, November 22 at 1 p.m. inside Mountain Lion Stadium
Game Coverage Last Time Out
  • UCCS dropped their first game of the season to Colorado School of Mines in the RMAC Championship game on Saturday by a score of 0-2.
  • It was a battle right from the start as UCCS and CSM both showed how much they wanted the Championship trophy. Unfortunately, it just was not UCCS' day as CSM's Chaney Brugman scored the first goal in the 37th minute to give the Orediggers a 1-0 lead.
  • Four minutes later, CSM's Eliot Edwards converted on a penalty goal to make the score 2-0, which would eventually become the final score.
  • CSM goalkeeper Shannon Mooney recorded seven saves to blank the potent UCCS offense and went on to win the RMAC Tournament MVP.
  • Taeya Schueppert led the Mountain Lions in shots and shots on goal in the game with five and three respectively, including two shots on goal in a row with time winding down in the first half. Close behind Schueppert was Tanner Sanders with four shots (one on goal), followed by Savannah Mills and Aleesa Muir with three and two shots respectively (one shot on goal each).
  • Keeper Mollee Swift tallied four saves in the game.
The Series
  • UCCS has never played TWU prior to this season. If TWU is able to win their first-round matchup, it would be the first time the two teams have met.
  • Against DSU, UCCS has a 2-0 record in the short time the two teams have been playing one another. UCCS won the most recent matchup by a score of 2-1.
Scouting the Opponent
  • TWU has a 15-5-0 overall record entering the NCAA Tournament, earning them the fourth seed in the South-Central Region. In their most recent game, the Pioneers lost to the #1 Dallas Baptist University 2-0 in the Lone Star Conference semifinal.
  • TWU has scored 37 goals on 282 shots (114 on goal) and allowed 17 goals this season. They also have 27 assists, 88 corner kicks, two penalty goals, and a shots on goal percentage of 40.4 percent.
  • Individually, Abigail Martinez and Haley Ward are the top two scorers for TWU with eight and seven goals this season, respectively. Martinez adds one assist for her team high 17 points, while Ward has two assists for her 16 points. Jazmine Navarro is the team's leading distributor with five assists.
  • Goalkeeper Daniela Marin has started every game for TWU and has racked up 71 saves and a save percentage of 80.7 percent.
  • DSU enters the 2019 NCAA Tournament with a 10-3-5 overall record and the fifth seed in the South-Central Region. In their most recent game, DSU fell to Metropolitan State University of Denver 4-3 in PKs in the RMAC Quarterfinals.
  • The Trailblazers have scored 50 goals on 301 shots (153 on goal) and allowed only 16 goals this season. DSU also has 31 assists, 134 corner kicks and a shots on goal percentage of 50.8 percent.
  • Individually, Kelsey Cook and Whitley Johns pace the offense for DSU. Cook leads the team in points with 25 thanks to eight goals (second on the team) and a team high nine assists. Johns leads the team in goals with 10 and adds three assists for her 23 points
  • DSU has a committee of goalkeepers, but Adelle Brown and Chandler Greenwood have combined for all of DSU's starts. Brown has started 12 games and has 34 saves and a save percentage of 82.9 percent, while Greenwood has started six games and has 20 saves and a save percentage of 76.9 percent.
Hot Takes
  • The Mountain Lions now have a 19-1-0 record this season, their best record through 20 games in any season.
  • Freshman Taeya Schueppert paced the UCCS offense on Saturday and now has 23 shots and 13 shots on goal this season, which rank seventh and sixth on the team respectively this year.
  • Freshman Tanner Sanders recorded four shots and one shot on frame, giving her 41 shots and 22 shots on goal this season, both of which rank second on the team behind Shanade Hopcroft. Those numbers also mean that Sanders has the third most shots and shots on goal by a freshman in UCCS history.
  • Sophomore Savannah Mills recorded three shots and one shot on goal on Saturday, which gives her 27 and 14 respectively this season. Those totals rank fifth and fourth (tied) on the team respectively this season.
  • Senior Aleesa Muir tallied two shots and one shot on goal against CSM. She now has 30 shots and 14 shots on goal this season, both of which are career highs and rank fourth on the team this season.
  • Freshman goalkeeper Mollee Swift tallied four saves in the game on Saturday, giving her 40 this season. She also boasts a goals against average of .51 and a save percentage of 83.3 percent.
Award Winners
  • The Mountain Lions landed five players on the Division II Conference Commissioners Association (DSCCA) All-South Central Region team.
  • Shanade Hopcroft adds to her accolades as she was named the D2CCA Player of the Year. Hopcroft enters the NCAA Tournament with 37 points, 13 goals and 11 assists, all of which lead the team and the RMAC. Hopcroft was also named to the D2CCA All-Region First Team.
  • Tanner Sanders, Aleesa Muir and Caitlin Esterle all earned the honor of D2CCA All-Region First Team as well. Sanders adds to her RMAC Freshman of the Year award with this honor as she enters the NCAA Tournament with 11 goals and 27 points. Muir and Esterle have both anchored the dominant UCCS back line all season, a group which has only allowed 10 goals this season and combined for 11 shutouts.
  • To round out the D2CCA honors, freshman goalkeeper Mollee Swift was named to the D2CCA All-Region Second Team. The true freshman claims her first nomination to the All-Region team as she has recorded 40 saves, six shutouts and a save percentage of 83.3 percent so far this season.
Weather
  • The forecast for Colorado Springs, Colo. on Sunday, November 24 shows clear skies and a high of 47 degrees. Winds are expected to gust up to seven miles per hour.
RMAC Leaders
  • As a team, UCCS ranks first in the RMAC in goals scored (66), scoring average (3.300), average margin of victory (2.8), assists (52), assists per game (2.60), points (184) and points per game (9.20).
  • UCCS also ranks second in opponents scoring average (.42), goals allowed (10), and save percentage (86.7 percent).
  • Shanade Hopcroft leads the RMAC offensively with 13 goals (.684 per game), 11 assists (.579 per game), 37 points (1.94 per game), five game winning goals , 80 shots (4.21 per game) and 38 shots on goal (2.00 per game).
  • Tanner Sanders remains second in the RMAC in goals (11) and points (27), third in goals per game (.550), fourth in points per game (1.35), fifth in assists (five), sixth in assists per game (.263) and 10th in shots on goal and shots on goal per game (22, 1.10).
  • Kaitlin Hinkle ranks first in the RMAC in game winning goals (five, tied) third in goals (10, tied), fourth in points (24) and goals per game (.526), and fifth in points per game (1.20).
  • Savannah Mills ranks second in the RMAC in points per game (1.41), and goals per game (.583), seventh in points (17) and ninth in goals (seven).
  • Keeper Mollee Swift ranks second in the RMAC in goals against average (.489), second in shutouts (six) and third in save percentage (85.7 percent) and goals allowed (eight, tied).
UCCS Under Coach Sian Hudson
  • After losing their first game this year, UCCS is now 52-9-4 overall under coach Hudson and 19-1-0 in 2019, their best record through 20 games of a season with Hudson leading the team. As the NCAA Tournament approaches, UCCS has a 3-1-2 all-time record in the NCAA Tournament under coach Hudson and has made the tournament in all three of Hudson's seasons at UCCS.
NCAA Tournament Schedule
  • After the opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament, the third round will be held on either December 5 or December 6, with the location for each date pending as well. The Quarterfinals will be held either December 7 or December 8, locations also to be determined.
  • The Final Four and the NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Championship will be in Pittsburgh, PA on December 12 and December 14, respectively.
Print Friendly Version