COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – University of Colorado Colorado women's soccer and No. 3 seed Regis University went 110 minutes in the RMAC Semifinals on Wednesday night as the Mountain Lions fell to the Rangers in overtime at a final score of 3-2.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: RU 3, #19 UCCS 2
Records: UCCS (13-3-4, 9-1-2 RMAC), RU (12-6-2, 9-2-1 RMAC)
Location: Mountain Lion Stadium | Colorado Springs, Colo.
Series: The Mountain Lions trail in the all-time series against the Rangers, 7-11.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
• Regis hopped on the board first as early offensive pressure from the Rangers resulted in the semifinal's first goal after a left-footed goal from Jillian Skurcenski led to a 1-0 Mountain Lion deficit in the 16
th minute.
• From there, the UCCS backline turned up the heat by not allowing another shot for the remaining 28 minutes of the first half while UCCS was on the cusp of breaking through on the offensive side of the ball with
Kelsey Takahashi nearly missing the equalizer in the 30
th minute after RU keeper Katelyn Martin made the diving save.
• The first half would end in a 1-0 RU advantage but coming out of the half it was the UCCS defense that continued to impress by disrupting the Rangers and holding them to three shots and no shots on goal in the second half.
• With the Mountain Lions' defense hard at work, the UCCS attack continued to pepper the Rangers' backline with 18 shots and nine shots on goal to keep Martin on her toes as the Rangers' recorded eight saves. But as the second half began to approach a late 84
th minute, it was the offense who put energy back in the crowd as
Fabiola Estrada worked from the far side of the box to center up
Annie Louthan who took the pass in stride and finished it off for the crowd erupting equalizer.
• As the clock struck 90, the Mountain Lions and Rangers headed into overtime where UCCS capitalized on an incredible set-piece from Estrada who went to the back-post where
Zoe Sims headed it in for the lead in the 92
nd minute, 2-1.
• The first period of overtime ended in UCCS's favor, 2-1, but an unfortunate string of plays in the opening minutes of the second overtime period led to a Ranger equalizer. An RU free kick bended into the box where an attempted clear by the Mountain Lions redirected into net at the 103:16 mark to make it 2-2.
• Then in the 109
th minute, Regis closed the game out as Audrey Teague knocked down a pass from midfield and fired it in to put her team ahead for the 3-2 final.
STATS FROM THE DAY:
• UCCS had an impressive +22 shot differential in the contest after outshooting Regis, 33-11. The Mountain Lions also held the advantage in shots on goal (15-4) and corner kicks (5-1).
• Five different student-athletes tallied two points in the match with three wearing black and gold as
Fabiola Estrada,
Annie Louthan, and
Zoe Sims each come away with two points. Estrada notches two assists as Sims and Louthan each netted a score.
• Midfielders
Makayla Merlo,
Kelsey Takahashi, and
Annie Louthan each registered a game-high five shots with Louthan pacing both teams in shots on goal (three).
• Five Mountain Lions never left the pitch in the 110-minute semifinal as
Jade Kinsey,
Makenna Fowler,
Makayla Merlo,
Annie Louthan, and
Zoe Sims played full time.
BEYOND THE BOX:
• Fabiola Estrada records her first career multi-assist game.
• Zoe Sims sets a new season career-high with six points scored on her career-high second goal on the season.
• Annie Louthan becomes the eighth Mountain Lion to register four or more goals this season.
• UCCS' 33 team shots ties for the program's eighth most shots in a single game and is a game-high for the Mountain Lions this season.
• So far this season, the 2022 Mountain Lions have posted the program's fourth most points (147) and goals (53), third most assists (45), and are tied for the most shutouts (11).
• The NCAA announced UCCS as the fifth ranked team in the South Central Region for their week three installment of regional rankings. The RMAC and the Lone Star Conference comprise the South Central Region where the top six teams out of the region will receive a berth to the NCAA Tournament. Winners of the RMAC and Lone Star Conference tournaments each receive an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
UP NEXT
No. 19 UCCS Women's Soccer will find out where they sit for the NCAA Tournament on Monday, Nov. 7 at 5 p.m. (MT) with the NCAA Selection Show airing on ncaa.com.
SOCIAL:
Twitter - @GoMountainLions
Instagram - @gomountainlions
Facebook – Go Mountain Lions
As a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs competes in 16 varsity sports in NCAA Division II intercollegiate athletics.
