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Mays leads way as Metro batters Mines
Forward Liz Oba of the Colorado School of Mines and center back Kathryn Gosztyla fight for a ball in the corner. (photo by George Tanner/ColoradoSoccerNow.com)
DENVER — Senior Becca Mays scored three goals and freshman Annie Austin added two as the Metropolitan State College women’s soccer team handed the Colorado School of Mines its first loss, a 6-1 thumping Saturday at the Auraria Fields in Denver. Mines entered the game with 4-0 record and was ranked 20th by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. The Roadrunners were unranked after losing 2-1 at home against Minnesota State on Sept. 4.
But Metro had the upper hand on Saturday.
The Roadrunners scored five goals in the second half, two of them after Mines was reduced to 10 players. Kelsey Lang was ejected for tripping Mays in the penalty box in the 58th minute, giving the Roadrunners a numbers advantage that they already had shown they didn’t need.
Metro State used physical play to force the Orediggers off the ball repeatedly, and the extra possession time resulted in Metro’s being able to control the ball and the game.
“I thought today we played by far one of the best games I’ve seen us play this season. I thought we just controlled it,” Mays said. “From the first minute of the game we just didn’t give them a chance to do anything against us. We do possession for about 75 percent of practice, and I think today showed that that’s what we’ve been working on.”
Two of Mays’ goals came in the second half, and the first one allowed Metro to hold a 1-0 lead at the intermission.
In the 27th minute, Mines defender Aubrey Bagley made a huge clearance of a ball sent into the goal box by Metro’s Courtney Ryan. But Mines was not able to control the clearance, and the Roadrunners put the ball back in front of the net. Mays smacked it in from the top of the box.
In the second half Mays teamed up with Madison McQuilliams to give Metro a 2-0 lead about seven minutes into the second half.
“Maddy played me a through-ball,” Mays said. “She kind of cut inside, and I made the run around her. She slipped me a perfect ball, perfect placement. I just took a touch and finished it.”
That opened the floodgates.
Mays scored again in the 55th minute to give Metro a 3-0 lead. And she would’ve had another good look at goal three minutes later if Lang hadn’t tripped her. McQuilliams took the penalty kick, and Metro was up 4-0 against a short-handed Mines team.
However, the Orediggers didn’t let the ejection get them down. They responded with intensity.
“Once we went down by four goals, then we were able to create more attacks and keep the ball and go at them,” assistant coach Lori Scheider said. “It was just the mentality that they had behind them, that there was nothing to be afraid of. They realized they they could play soccer once there was nothing to be afraid of.”
Mines got its goal with about 31 minutes to play when forward Kayla Mitchell made a fearless run into the Metro goal box. Roadrunners goalkeeper Becca Maloney mishandled a ball in the air, and Mitchell popped it home from close in. Mitchell had another opportunity about 10 minutes later, but Maloney made a diving save to preserve the 4-1 lead.
Metro made it 5-1 in the 87th minute on the first goal of Austin’s career. The play started in the Metro penalty area, and the Roadrunners connected on a series of passes to get the ball up the field in a hurry. Austin finished from about 20 yards out after receiving the ball from Ashley Munchiando. It was a thorough team effort.
Austin’s other goal came in the 89th as she moved from left to right in front of goal.
Was a 6-1 Metro victory a fair result against Mines? What about a 4-0 advantage while the teams were at even strength? Was Saturday’s match an accurate measuring stick when comparing these two Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference rivals?
“Yeah,” Mays said. “I think we made a statement today about the RMAC.”
THE RECORDS: The match was the first league game for both teams.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Mays, of course. That’s nearly automatic when a player scores a treble. Whether it was stealing the ball from a Mines player’s feet, flicking a header backward for her teammates to run onto, starting the Metro counterattack or scoring goals, Mays was outstanding. But on a different day, the honor might have gone to someone playing a little farther back on the pitch. …
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME: On the back of the match’s game program, there’s a photo of the Roadrunners’ co-captain with the caption, “Getting to know … #9 Kathryn Gosztyla.” The Orediggers got to know her on Saturday. She was a physical force at the back of the field. She led with her shoulder or her hip when necessary and set the tone for the Metro defense to use the body. She, Courtney Ryan, Nicole Renko and Gabby Klipp were nearly unbeatable againt Mines, with Renko being the most likely to stay at home. Gosztyla’s forays into offensive territory toward the end were impressive for a center back, even with a one-player advantage.
WEATHER MATTERS: The temperature was 69 degrees at kickoff on a beautiful Friday afternoon. The setting could’ve been a brutally hot summer afternoon, but a cold front came through the state and dropped temperatures beautifully.
WHAT’S NEXT: Metro plays at Colorado State-Pueblo at 1 p.m. Sunday, and Mines hosts New Mexico Highlands at noon Sunday.
MINES STARTERS: Briana Schulze, Bagley, Lang, Jessica Stark, Dani Hering, Alison Oien, Liz Oba, Mitchell, Allison Heeg, Megan Woodworth, Caitlyn Ruegger.
METRO STARTERS: Maloney, Jen Thomas, Mays, McQuilliams, Munchiando, Gosztyla, Ryan, Hayley Renko, Nicole Renko, Klipp, Taylor Nicholls.
George Tanner is a former writer and editor for the Rocky Mountain News; the Greeley Tribune; The Daily Independent of Ridgecrest, Calif.; the Durango Herald; and the Boulder Daily Camera. He is a graduate of the University of Colorado and an affiliate professor at Metropolitan State College of Denver. E-mail him at ColoradoSoccerNow@gmail.com.
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