The UCCS Mountain Lions (1-6-0, 0-3-0 RMAC) return to the field for battle again on Friday against the Mesa State Mavericks (4-3-0, 0-3-0 RMAC). CSU-Pueblo (3-4-0, 2-1-0 RMAC) faces Colorado Christian at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday.

Megan Woodworth provided both goals for Mines including the game-winner with just 48 seconds remaining in the game.
 
UCCS’ lone goal came from Junior Brianna Guzzardo. It was her first goal of the year and it was assisted by Julia Saenz and Josi Talbot. Julia is now the record holder for assists in a season at UCCS with six already this year.
 
The game was tied at one the whole second half due in part to excellent defense by UCCS. They were outshot 23 to 12 in the game but kept it tight with tenacious defense and five big saves from freshman keeper Kelly Schroeder.
 
The Mountain Lions are looking to rebound on Wednesday when rival CSU-Pueblo comes to town.

Metro State's Steve Emory battles for control during Friday's match against UCCS at Auraria Field. (Photography by Jessica Taves/ColoradoSoccerNow.com.)

Chris Yoder’s 10th minute goal past ‘keeper Chris Baines proved to be enough on Saturday afternoon for the Roadrunners. The hot afternoon was reflected in the low score, as the two teams combined for only six shots on goal.

With the win, Metro State improved to 5-1-0, 2-0-0 RMAC, while Mesa State dropped to 4-2-0, 0-2-0 RMAC. Roadrunners goalkeeper Issa Bissau picked up shutout wins in both games.

The sluggish Sunday was a far cry from Friday afternoon when the ‘Runners hosted the Mountain Lions.

The Roadrunners dominated play throughout the game, but could not find the net until Steven Emory scored in the 36th minute.  Emory took the ball away from Jaron Stewart at the top of the box and fired it past UCCS goalkeeper Adam Liszewski.  The shot bounced off the right post, then off Liszewski and spun into the net.

Kevin Pocalyko netted the next goal in the 68th minute, scoring on a volley from a Jack Belanger free kick on the right side.  It was the first goal of Pocalyko’s career.

Just three minutes later, Scott Grode found the net at 70:59, scoring on a breakaway after a through ball from Marc Herschberger.

Emory scored again in the 82nd minute, and Grode added the final goal of the game in the 86th minute.  After receiving a pass from Chris Yoder on the right side, he dribbled to the top of the box and chipped the ball over Liszewski.

Editor’s Note: This post was updated to reflect the correct scorer in Sunday’s game. ColoradoSoccerNow apologizes for the earlier error.

On the field, Robert Kinsey had a hat trick and added an assist to lift Colorado State-Pueblo to a 5-3 victory over Colorado-Colorado Springs.

But what made sense is that there was a match at all.

Two weeks ago, both teams were officially eliminated from the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference playoffs. Both teams were also under the NCAA maximum for number of games played for the season. So, because both UCCS coach Henry Ellis and CSU-Pueblo coach Roy Stanley wanted to get an extended look at some of their younger players in a game situation, they decided to schedule Sunday’s match.

“(We want to) give guys new roles; there are certain guys playing different positions than what they played in the regular season,” Stanley said before the match. “Other guys hadn’t played any real minutes throughout the year. We’re trying to get those guys an opportunity to start proving themselves for next August.”

The Thunderwolves didn’t travel any of their seniors, starting three juniors, four sophomores and four freshmen. The Mountain Lions’ lineup was similarly young.

“We’ve been starting younger players all season,” UCCS assistant coach John Sollock said.

True, but Sunday had more of an exhibition-game purpose even though the match counted in the standings as a nonconference game. Twenty-one Mountain Lions saw action in the match.

“Today, we were trying to get a lot of our young guys some playing time; guys that haven’t been playing for a while,” said Ellis. “We were a little discombobulated, and that showed throughout the match. We were still able to score three goals, but when you give up five it’s hard to beat anybody.”

UCCS took the early lead when Matt Friesen created a turnover on a CSU-Pueblo corner kick. Friesen knocked it to Greg Miley, who sent a through pass to Dami Oladiran on the UCCS side of midfield. The speedy Oladiran beat his defender on the dribble, closing to within 15 yards before launching his shot just inside the far post at the 12:37 mark.

Brenden Hughes tied it for CSU-Pueblo in the 27th minute, when he got a head on a free kick delivered by Chaz Hendrix from midfield that scooted past UCCS goalkeeper Adam Liszewski.

Friesen made it 2-1 in favor of the Mountain Lions when he knocked in a rebound of a Riley Gallagher shot at the 65:28 mark.

Two and a half minutes later, Kendon Knowles tied it by converting a Kinsey crossing pass.

The tie lasted for just a minute as Kinsey scored the first of his three goals, sending a Corey Cullen cross just inside the near post. Kinsey made it 4-2 in the 73rd minute by beating a UCCS defender on the dribble and slicing a shot inside the near post.

The Mountain Lions cut the deficit to one in the 77th minute. Aaron Brandt sent a free kick from 40 yards out toward the far post, where Ryan Piechowski was making a run. The ball never got to Piechowski; instead it hooked just inside the upper-right corner of the goal.

Kinsey completed his hat trick in the 83rd minute. Hendrix lobbed a free kick from just beyond the midfield stripe toward the UCCS goal. Liszewski hesitated for a moment before deciding to charge out to play the ball. Kinsey got to it first and popped a header over Liszewski that bounced into the net.

For both teams, the match showed some outstanding individual skill combined with some maddeningly inconsistent execution, particularly in the defensive end.

“There were some good things, but it was very sloppy for us today,” Ellis said. “It was an unfortunate way to end the season, but we’ve got a lot to look forward to and a lot of work in the weight room coming.”

The match was rescheduled from Oct. 11, when an ice storm left the pitch unplayable. The makeup conditions were little better, with temperatures at 29 degrees and a stiff breeze blowing snow from the north.

Regis took control from the outset. Except for the moments immediately following the opening kickoff, the Rangers kept the ball in the UCCS end for the first 5 minutes, 7 seconds, including three shots in the first 1:38. Using the stiff wind to full advantage, the Rangers outshot UCCS 15-2 in the period.

One of those shots found its mark. With the cold and constant pressure taking their toll, the Mountain Lions’ defense found itself flat-footed. Ashley Collins thwarted what should have been a goal at the 34:25 mark but, unable to clear the ball, Collins couldn’t prevent Chelsea Reichard from converting a Davis crossing pass 18 seconds later.

A Mountain Lion turnover created the Rangers’ second goal. A mis-hit allowed Kari Taylor to intercept the ball in the UCCS zone, and she proceeded to carry the ball to the left side of the penalty area. Her cross went off of UCCS goalkeeper Kayla Millar and was bumped in by Davis.

With the wind at their back, the Mountain Lions had an 8-7 shot advantage in the second half but couldn’t sneak one past Regis goalkeeper Rosie Campbell, who had three saves in recording her sixth shutout of the season.

Millar made six saves for UCCS.

With the win, UCCS leads the rivalry series 14-0. Because 45 points are available, UCCS needs just nine more to clinch the series and the Ent Federal Credit Union Trophy, which goes to the winner. The Steel & Silver Series awards points to the winner of games between the schools in seven women’s and three men’s sports and a five-point bonus to the university whose student-athletes have the best grades. Mountain Lion teams won last season’s series with a score of 33-12 and have won the Ent Federal credit Union Trophy in each of the series’ three years of existence.

Wednesday’s win was bigger than most for UCCS. The women’s soccer teams play only once this season, so the victory was worth all four points available for women’s soccer.

“It’s a huge rivalry between the two schools, and that makes for a big game, no matter what,” UCCS coach Nichole (Rick) Ridenour said. “The fact that we get them only once this year makes for even bigger circumstances.”

Despite facing heavy pressure, UCCS freshman goalkeeper Kayla Millar recorded her third shutout in five starts since taking over for injured senior Ashley Armstrong. Millar made 10 saves. Her counterpart, CSU-Pueblo’s Randi Wallace, stopped nine shots.

Coury Pitt’s goal in the 15th minute was all the offense required by UCCS. Pitt closed on a Thunderwolves defender who was trying to control a bouncer, managed to bump the ball away, ran onto it and drilled it in.

“I saw her playing with the ball in the back, so I took the opportunity to tackle her,” Pitt said. “I hit (the ball) with the outside of my foot because I saw the goalie coming. The right side of the net was wide open.”

CSU-Pueblo’s hyper-physical style began to take its toll on UCCS, particularly late in the game. Over the final 25 minutes, the Thunderwolves outshot UCCS 8-2, and five of those shots require saves by Millar.

“It was really scrappy, and scrappy balls are then hardest for us to defend because you don’t know where the ball is going,” Millar said. “We were having trouble clearing (the ball) to where we needed to clear it.”

One person’s “scrappy” is another’s combat. The match devolved into a show of force, complete with body checks, grabbing, pushing and even the occasional blow. Two players needed to be helped from the field; one was taken to the hospital.

While upset that the game was allowed to get in that state, Ridenour was more upset by her team’s failure to appropriately deal with it.

“That’s what our girls need to learn, to play through it,” she said. “We can’t rely on the refs to make calls for us; we can’t rely on them to protect us. We have to play through it and hold the ball. We need to control the pace of the game and make our own adjustments to protect the team.”

The Mountain Lions left the field with a 5-5 record, 4-5 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, and winners of three of their past four. CSU-Pueblo dropped to 3-7-1, 2-7-1 in the RMAC.

“We’ve been doing a lot better,” Pitt said. “It took us time to get chemistry together and, once that clicked, we started passing around teams and learning how to score.”