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Rangers nip ‘Runners in OT
For 106 minutes, the Regis Rangers and Metro State Roadrunners played evenly on Wednesday afternoon.
In the 107th, freshman Rachel McMahon separated the two sides.
Her golden goal with 3:59 remaining in the second overtime period gave Regis a 3-2 win and signalled that the Roadrunners no longer occupy the roost in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
After winning eight straight conference titles, and repeatedly going through the RMAC with rarely a tie, Metro State fell to 5-1-1 overall, 1-1-1 in the confernce, and is now chasing Regis (5-3-0, 2-1-0 RMAC) and Colorado Mines (3-1-2, 2-0-0 RMAC). New Mexico Highlands, CSU-Pueblo, Fort Lewis and even Nebraska-Kearney are all bunched in the battle to lead.
Standings and history were irrelevant on Wednesday. At Auraria Field, Regis played spirited, attacking soccer, twice rallying from one-goal deficits.
After the two sides traded opening forays in the first 15 minutes, Metro State appeared to take control. The ‘Runners saw an Ashley Nemmers’ shot beat the defense and ping off the far post in the 19th minute. Nemmers then turned provider in the 30th minute, getting the ball to Michael’Ann Karas near the top of the box. Karas beat ‘keeper Ellen Augsburger to her right to put Metro State up 1-0.
Regis started to come alive after the goal, ultimately missing on three shots in the final three minutes of the half. This pattern continued in the second half with forward Jordan Miller looking particularly dangerous in runs from the right side. She was rewarded in the 59th minute when she connected on a pass from midfielder Marissa Davis and laced the ball to ‘keeper Alee Seehausen’s left to tie the score.
Metro State missed several opportunities to go back in front, the closest when midfielder Madison McQuilliams tagged the crossbar and post on a shot in the 62nd minute. Three minutes later, McQuilliams played a give-and-go with forward Aubrey Fondy. Fondy’s return pass found McQuilliams alone, and she buried her shot from 10 yards out.
Both sides sought another score as action moved from end to end of the field. Ranger Lauren Dorsey-Spitz finally found the equalizer in the 80th minute when she latched onto a ball that Metro State failed to clear off of a corner.
Neither side could find the advantage in regulation. Regis defender Taylor White delivered the smartest foul of the game when she cut down Fondy in the 83rd minute. Without that tackle — which led to a yellow card for White — Fondy would have been going at full speed, the ball on her right leg and only the ‘keeper to beat.
Metro State looked the more dangerous side in the first 10-minute overtime period. Freshman Nicole Pollack put a header over the bar in the 97th minute on the best scoring opportunity either side saw in the first OT frame.
The second stanza of OT saw both sides tiring. McMahon’s goal came as neither side looked threatening and the rain was starting to hamper field conditions.
At the end, the Regis players gathered to celebrate their victory. The ‘Runners walked off with a No. 3 national ranking that was sure to fall and a conference loss on their home field.
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