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Rangers use wind to their advantage against CSU-Pueblo
CSU-Pueblo’s Melissa Christensen, left, and Regis left back Kalley Mahaffey close in on a bouncing ball Friday at the Regis Match Pitch. (photo by George Tanner/ColoradoSoccerNow.com)
DENVER — Against the wind. Regis was winning against the wind. After chasing passes and frequently losing them with the wind at its back in the first half, the Regis University women’s soccer team got second-half goals from Chelsea Reichard, Heather Thomas and Ryndi Zastrow to defeat Colorado State University-Pueblo 3-0 on Friday afternoon.
Although sports teams usually look forward to working with the wind, the Rangers were headed into the gusts in the second half and used it to their advantage, particularly on their first goal.
In the 56th minute, Erin Kettmann sent a perfectly weighted ball to the head of the 5-foot-5 Reichard, who pounded it straight into the left-center of the goal. Regis coach J.B. Belzer said Kettmann, when taking corner kicks from the right flag, usually curls the ball away from goal.
“Kettmann drove it into the mix. Typically that ball spins away out to the top of the box. I was very pleased to see her hit that one right,” Belzer said. “Chelsea Reichard is very small, but her timing is wonderful. She drove that home with her head. The opening goal was critical. The first goal can always dictate the outcome.”
Friday was no exception. With the opening goal out of the way, Regis extended its lead about seven minutes later. Jordan Miller chipped the ball toward the Thunderwolves’ net (and into the northeasterly wind) from the left wing. A defender, perhaps surprised that the ball dropped where it did, misplayed it, and it ended up at the feet of Thomas, who blasted it back across goal and into the left side netting.
Miller wasn’t credited with an assist on that play, but she did receive one on the final goal.
As Regis began to substitute more liberally with a two-goal margin, Regis’ scoring chances continued to mount. Ultimately, with less than a minute to play, Zastrow closed out the scoring. Miller passed to the freshman from Granby, and she sent a long ball over the head of Pueblo goalkeeper Randi Walters.
Thunderwolves coach Janet Cassidy said the two-goal lead was too much to overcome.
“They had a great corner header for the first goal, and then my defender mis-hit it for the second goal,” she said. “So two mistakes, and it was the game. That’s just what happens in soccer.”
She agreed with Belzer about the first goal being critical, ad she pointed to a five-minute stretch of the first half in which her team had three or four excellent opportunities to get on the scoreboard first. The best came from the boot of junior striker Leanne Carberry, who coaxed the save of the game out of Regis starting goalkeeper Marianne Clausen in the 30th minute.
“We had four 1-v-1s that we didn’t finish early on,” Cassidy said. “It’s a different game if we finish one of those, and it’s a different attitude.
The match, though, was scoreless at halftime. And with the teams switching side, Regis would look forward to working against the wind and to implementing some changes that Belzer prescribed for the second half.
“I thought Pueblo held a tactical shape very well all day. We didn’t solve it particularly well in the first half. They pinched tight in the midfield in the first half, and we didn’t defend it well. So we made that adjustment at halftime, and we opened up our width, especially with some of the backs coming forward,” Belzer said. “I honestly felt we played better into the breeze than we did with the wind at our backs. Every ball we played in the first half was going straight to the keeper or out of bounds. It was too vertical. When you play with the wind in your face, the ball sits up a bit more. You hit the ball into the wind, and it bites. I knew we would play better in the second half for a number of reasons.”
PLAYER OF THE GAME: I thought Regis left back Kalley Mahaffey was spectacular. Much of the offense in the first half started in Mahaffey’s corner of the field. She would pass forward to left wing Chelsea Bokan, or she would carry toward the middle and look for center mid Katie Horn. Mahaffey was aggressive without the ball, and she has the speed to recover her position if she gets caught straying. She was good in the air and strong with the body.
IN GOAL: Regis started with Clausen then switched to Nicole Eddings in the 77th minute. The two were credited with seven saves, but the goaltending highlight of the day was Clausen’s lunging stop against Carberry in the 16th minute.
WEATHER MATTERS: When the game began, it was about 50 degrees and gusty. But by the time the second half started, the temperature had gone up about 10 degrees. It was mostly sunny.
HUSTLE AWARD: Carberry was Pueblo’s engine. She refused to stop running and would chase down balls that most of the players, on either side, had given up on. And on occasion, it left Carberry stranded. For example, in the second half, Carberry caught up to a ball along the left sideline that appeared to be heading out of bounds. She caught up to it and saved it, but then she was alone on that side of the pitch with the ball at her feet and no teammates to turn to. The Regis defense closed in, and Carberry had nowhere to turn. It caught the attention of Cassidy, who shouted at the rest of the Thunderwolves to support the efforts of their teammate.
RECORDS: Regis improved to 9-2-2 overall and 6-1-2 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. The Thunderwolves slipped to 3-8-2 overall, 2-6-1 in conference.
PUEBLO STARTERS: Randi Walters, Felicia Gilbreath, Sheela Thompson, Leanne Carberry, Melissa Christensen, Aubrielle Williams, Caitlin Campisi, Kiley Draper, Jessa Cook, Kara Morton, Cameron Giebel.
REGIS STARTERS: Chelsea Bokan, Heidi Boersma, Heather Thomas, Kalley Mahaffey, Katie Horn, Chelsea Reichard, Jordan Miller, Katie King, Maddie Reeves, Erin Kettmann, Marianne Clausen.
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