Salt Lake City, Utah – The University of Colorado Colorado Springs women's soccer team took a 2-0 lead early in the first half and held on to win 2-1 against Westminster University on the road.
INSIDE THE MATCH-UP
Final: UCCS 2, WU 1
Records: UCCS (6-7-2, 4-5-0 RMAC), WU (6-3-4, 4-2-3 RMAC)
Facility: Dumke Field |Salt Lake City, Utah
All-Time Series: The Mountain Lions improve to a 9-4-1 advantage over the Griffins in 14 meetings.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Luka Johnson got things started for the Mountain Lions early. Johnson found herself in open space, dribbled past a defender, and struck the ball by the goalkeeper on the right side of the net, putting UCCS up 1-0 at the eight-minute mark.
- Nearly seven minutes later, Abby Stassi connected with Taylynn Levi, who booted it with her left foot just to the right of the penalty arc, skipping it past the diving Griffins keeper on the lower right of the goal.
- The Mountain Lion's defense held WU to just one shot on goal in the first half, doing an excellent job keeping the ball on the opponent's side of the field. UCCS maintained control and held on to a 2-0 lead the remainder of the half.
- The two teams battled out of the half, with neither team managing to get anything going. In the 66th minute, though, the Griffins collected a goal. Ashley Cardozo sent a high-arching strike from deep just over the reach of Alexa Malaspina, making the score 2-1.
- From then on, UCCS maintained its lead, refusing to let this game reach extra time and winning the match 2-1.
STATS FROM THE GAME
- Johnson's goal at 8:17 was her fourth on the season, tying her with Emily Aguilar for the most goals on the team.
- Levi's goal at 15:30 was her third of the year, giving her the second-most on the team behind Johnson and Aguilar.
- Stassi's assist to Levi was her first on the season, and she marks as the ninth Mountain Lion to record an assist this year.
- Alexa Malaspina did a great job protecting the UCCS goal, collecting five saves on the day.
- Despite the win, the Griffins led the Mountain Lions in shots (12-8), shots on goal (6-5) and corner kicks (5-2).
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- In their last meeting, on November 5, 2023, UCCS lost to Westminster in the first round of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference tournament. Despite being the one seed, the Mountain Lions fell to the eighth-seeded Griffins 1-0.
- Today's 2-1 win is UCCS' first win on Westminster's home turf since March 31, 2021.
UP NEXT
- After a two-game road trip, the Mountain Lions head home on Thursday, Oct. 31, for a match against New Mexico Highlands University. Coverage begins at 6 p.m. at Mountain Lion Stadium in Colorado Springs, Colo.
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.
