Women's Soccer Season Recap

• The University of Colorado Colorado Springs women's soccer team ended their 2024 season with a 10-8-2 overall record and a 7-5 conference record within the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC).
• The Mountain Lions went an even 1-1-1 in their first three matches of the season, drawing Western Oregon 1-1, losing 0-2 to Western Washington University, and winning their home opener against St. Mary's University with a 2-0 shutout.
• UCCS went on to finish with a scoreless draw against the University of Tampa (3-0) on September 15^th and a 4-3 victory over California State University Dominguez hills the same week on September 18^th.
• After a 2-5 loss to Point Loma Nazarene University on September 8^th, the Mountain Lions would go on to drop their first four in-conference matches to Colorado School of Mines, Western Colorado University, Colorado Christian University, and Metropolitan State University of Denver.
• The five game losing streak seemed to provide a spark for the Mountain Lions, as they rattled off three wins in a row over Fort Lewis College, Black Hills State University, and Regis University to salvage their RMAC record and bring it to 3-4 on the season. UCCS dropped their next match in a close 0-1 battle against the no. 22 ranked Colorado Mesa University which would end up being the team's final loss in the regular season.
• UCCS would go on to win their final four matches ahead of the RMAC tournament while only allowing two goals in the process, beating Westminster University 2-1, New Mexico Highlands University 6-0, Adams State University 2-0, and Colorado State University Pueblo 5-1.
• The Mountain Lions' 7-5 conference record earned them the no. 4 seed in the 2024 RMAC Women's Soccer Tournament where they would take on the fifth seeded CCU. After dropping their first matchup against the Cougars 1-2 on October 3^rd, UCCS flipped the script and took a 2-1 tournament victory into the second round where they would take on the no. 1 seeded Colorado School of Mines.
• The 2024 season ended for the Mountain Lions after a tough 1-2 loss to CSM on November 14^th where all three goals were scored in the second half. While the year ended earlier than hoped, UCCS found a way to battle through the adversity of starting with a 0-4 conference record by finishing the regular season 7-1 and winning an RMAC Tournament game.

 
Award Winners
The stellar 2023 season came with an abundance of awards as 17 Mountain Lions combined for a total 32 awards.

• Fie Steenberg: Academic All-District First Team, All-RMAC Second Team, RMAC Offensive Player of the Week (Nov. 7)
• Taylynn Levi: Academic All-District First Team, RMAC All-Tournament Team, All-RMAC Second Team
• Malia Groshong: RMAC Freshman of the Year, RMAC Defensive Player of the Week (Sept. 17)
• Emily Aguilar: All-RMAC First Team, Division II Conference Commissioners Association All-Region Second Team, United Soccer Coaches All-Region Second Team
• Luka Johnson: All-RMAC Second Team
• Jessica Rockwell: RMAC Defensive Player of the Week (Oct. 22)
• Alexa Malaspina: RMAC Goalkeeper of the Week (Oct. 22)

Statistical Leaders

• The Mountain Lions scored 37 times and had 11 different players record a goal during the 2024 season with Taylynn Levi and Emily Aguilar leading the team with seven apiece. Fie Steenberg and Luka Johnson both contributed with five goals each as Amelia McManus and Brooke Pavlich tied for third most, both netting three goals. Jadyn LeDoux and Abby Stassi were next on the team with two goals on the season while Jessica Rockwell, Malia Groshong, and Casey Tadlock added to the team total, each scoring once.
• Levi and Aguilar's seven goals finished tied for the fourth most in the RMAC while Steenberg and Johnson's five goals ranks as tied for sixth overall in the conference. Pavlich and Steenberg combined with four game-winning goals on the season as each finished with two.
• The Mountain Lions' 37 goals on the season were enough to rank third in the RMAC while also finishing third in average goals per game with 1.85. UCCS recorded 22 assists this year as they finished sixth in the RMAC.
• Steenberg led the team in assists for the second year in a row with six on the season, finishing tied for second most in the RMAC. A total of 10 different Mountain Lions assisted teammates this year as Rockwell ended with three while Levi, Johnson, McManus, Elise Broberg, and Mikaela Carlson had two. Aguilar, Stassi, and Sophia Broberg all contributed as well.
• McManus led the team in total shots this season with 44, 13 of which were on goal. Steenberg was the team leader in on-target shots with 21 on the season.
• 11 Mountain Lions tallied over 1,000 minutes played this year with the team leaders being Groshong (1,593), Steenberg (1,591), and Levi (1,538).
• Freshman Goalkeeper Alexa Malaspina played in 17 games this season and ended with six shutouts which ranked fifth in the RMAC. Her save percentage of .750 was eighth in the conference while her goals against average of 1.202, was the RMAC's seventh lowest GAA.

 
Hot Takes

• Fie Steenberg's fourth season with UCCS ended with her leading in assists for the second season in a row with six, as she is now third all-time in career assists with 18 total as well as ninth in all-time shots with 122. Steenberg is also fifth in total minutes played in a Mountain Lion uniform with 5,666 after playing 1,586 minutes in the 2024 season as well as first in career games started with 75 and tied for second in total games played with 87 after starting in all 20 games this year.
• LeDoux is now eighth all-time in goals with 19, 10^th in total shots with 119, sixth in shots on goal with 68, tied for ninth in all-time in points with 49, and third in career shot on goal percentage with 0.571 after her 2024 season.
• After her first season as a Mountain Lion, freshman goalkeeper Alexa Malaspina has worked her way into the record books by saving the 10^th most shots in program history with 60, which also leaves her with the fourth most in a freshman season in UCCS history. Malaspina ended the season with a 1.21 goals-against average as she finishes ranked seventh all time while her six shutouts were enough to tie for fourth most in program history.
• Taylynn Levi has already logged 3,177 minutes played through her first two seasons with the Mountain Lions and took the third most shots of any sophomore in UCCS history this season with 51. Levi's career shot percentage of 0.176 is now fifth all-time as well.
• The Mountain Lions' 10 wins on the season is the ninth most the team has had in program history. Their eight losses are also tied for the ninth fewest they've had in a season.
• The seven home victories on the season ties for fifth most in a season for UCCS while their three wins on the road is the 10^th fewest.
• Their 37 goals scored on the season ranks seventh all-time in program history, and their 1.85 goals per game finishes eighth, just 0.01 behind their 2023 season.
• J.B. Belzer remains the all-time leader in RMAC head coaches wins after finishing the season with 382 wins between Regis University and UCCS and extends his streak to five straight seasons with a winning record for the Mountain Lions, the most by any head coach in program history.

 
National Rankings

• The Mountain Lions began the 2024 season ranked No. 6 in the preseason United Soccer Coaches Division II Women's Soccer National Poll. They would not appear in the top 25 for the rest of the season after a troubling start where they won just two games out of their first ten.
   
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  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.