GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – The University of Colorado Colorado Springs women's soccer falls in a 1-0 match to the Colorado Mesa University Mavericks on the road.
INSIDE THE MATCH-UP
Final: UCCS 0, #22 CMU 1
Records: UCCS (5-7-2, 3-5-0 RMAC), CMU (10-1-2, 8-0-0 RMAC)
Facility: Community Hospital Unity Field | Grand Junction, Colo.
All-Time Series: The Mavericks hold a 11-8-2 advantage in the 21 contests between the two programs.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Mountain Lions stuck to their game plan in the opening ten minutes of play as they dominated the possession as the game began. UCCS got the first dangerous chance in the game as Luka Johnson rifled a shot of the cross bar in the tenth minute, the rebound was flagged down by Emily Aguilar though her shot went high as the Mavericks survived the early opportunity.
- The first promising CMU look came in the 26th minute as the Mavericks offense sliced their way up the field and through UCCS' defenders as Abby Fotheringham found herself with the ball just outside the UCCS 18 yard box, but fired it high as the game remained scoreless.
- The Mountain Lions had another quality opportunity in the 32nd minute as a poor punt turned the ball over to UCCS with Megan Davis alone in the center of the field, Davis ripped a shot as she received possession, but the chance flew high, as UCCS continued to control the first half play.
- Though UCCS was on the ball throughout the first half of play, a broken play at the far corner of the UCCS penalty area allowed the ball to squirt out to Braelyn Baclayon who fired it off a UCCS defender and in, giving the Mavericks the first score of the game.
- UCCS and Luka Johnson, again, broke down deep into the Mavericks end with just over a minute remaining in the opening 45 minutes that went high. The Mavericks would push down the field one final time on the ensuing counterattack but wouldn't find a shot as CMU took the 1-0 lead into the break.
- The Mountain Lions again found themselves deep in the Mavericks end just five minutes into the second half, but a foul whistled against Amelia McManus to erase the chance. However, like the first half, UCCS continued to hold possession and dictate play.
- With just under nine minutes to play in the match, Pavlich found herself with a chance to head it on. She was able to redirect it on net, but couldn't get any muster on the redirect and it allowed for the easy save.
- Fast forward to five and a half minutes to play, and Malaspina was tested on a shot at the near-low corner again by Baclayon, but Malaspina would keep it out, and return life to UCCS.
- The Mountain Lions would continue to threaten but could not find the net in the end, dropping the match 1-0 in Grand Junction.
STATS FROM THE GAME
- UCCS, despite trailing at the half, outshot CMU 5-4 in the opening period of play. UCCS dominated the possession in the first half, but CMU took advantage of one of their few chances to grab the lead.
- Cautions were shown to Sauvelyne Randel of CMU, who was booked at 55:13, and Fotheringham who entered the book at 60:27.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Before this evening, the last time the home team earned the win in a match between the Mountain Lions and Mavericks was April 3rd, 2021 (Spring COVID season) when UCCS won 4-0 in Colorado Springs. The road team won the following four matches (two wins for each side).
- The Mountain Lions and Mavericks met twice last season, with the Mavericks defeating UCCS in the regular season 2-1 at Mountain Lion Stadium, and UCCS eliminated CMU in the NCAA South-Central Championship 1-0.
UP NEXT
- The Mountain Lions will remain in the west as they travel to Salt Lake City on Sunday for a 12 p.m. match at Westminster University.
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 14 varsity sports in NCAA Division II intercollegiate athletics.
