Denver 3, Colorado College 1
DENVER -(DU Media Relations) The University of Denver women's soccer team got a goal in the first half and two more in the second to upend Colorado College 3-1 in the NCAA Tournament First Round on Saturday afternoon at CIBER Field at the University of Denver Soccer Stadium. DU's victory is the Pioneers second NCAA Tournament win in program history.
In a match that saw a large amount of hail begin to fall as referee Ignacio Jaimes blew his opening whistle, senior forward Kaitlin Bast (Centennial, Colo.) became the third Pioneer in school history to join the 100-point club, pacing the Pioneers (16-2-4) with two goals and an assist (five points) on Saturday. Junior forward Kristen Hamilton (Littleton, Colo.) scored her team-leading 14th goal in the match as well.
“When we start games strong, and start halves strong it makes an impression on our team, and makes an impression on our opponent,” head coach Jeff Hooker said. “We switched things up a bit formation wise when we came out in the second half, a little bit because of the weather. We didn’t want to be too crazy and too aggressive. I thought our energy was really, really good.”
Denver's striking tandem teamed up for the opening goal of the match, giving the Pioneers the lead in the 17th minute. Bast slipped a through ball behind the Tigers' backline to kick-start the scoring play. As she has done many times this season, Hamilton beat her mark to the ball, and beat the keeper 1-v-1 for the early breakthrough. Hamilton moved into a tie for fifth in program history in goals with 37.
The weather continued to get worse, so heading into the locker room with a 1-0 lead at the intermission, the Pioneers looked to get a second goal early in the second half. Bast delivered her 11th of the season in the 54th minute, on assists from junior forward Nicholette DiGiacomo (Golden, Colo.) and Kalie Vaughn (Fort Collins, Colo.). DiGiacomo switched fields and found Vaughn down the right flank, freeing the Pioneer senior to get to the endline and play a clinical cross to the head of Bast, just outside the six-yard box to double the Pioneers' advantage. The assist was the 24th of Vaughn's career, moving her into a tie for sixth in program history.
Bast would finish off the 11th multi-goal game of her career in the 63rd minute on an assist from junior defender Cassidy Larson (Eldorado Springs, Colo.). Denver's right back found some space just inside the Pioneers' attacking half, and played a line-drive cross into the penalty area. Larson's cross got through the backline, and Bast out-slid her mark and flicked it into the back of the net with her right foot.
Colorado College (14-4-5) would make it 3-1 in the 78th minute on a Kaeli Vandersluis goal, a rebounded finish off Hannah Peterson's original shot on target. The Tigers would go on to create a couple half-chances in the remaining 12 minutes, but none got by Campbell, securing the 3-1 win for Denver.
DU held a 17-12 advantage in shots and a 5-3 edge in corners.
Senior goalkeeper Lara Campbell (Anchorage, Alaska) made four saves in the match in her school-record 61st-career win.
The Pioneers will travel to Palo Alto, Calif., to take on the winner of tonight's Maryland and Stony Brook match (at Maryland). The Terps are the fourth seed in the region. The match will be played on Friday at a time to be determined.
BYU 2, Utah State 1
PROVO, Utah - (USU Media Relations) After making history by advancing to its second-straight NCAA Tournament, the Utah State soccer team had its season come to an end against top-seed and No. 2 ranked BYU, 2-1, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Provo on Saturday.
Utah State ends the season with a13-3-6 record which is the fewest losses in school history. This is the first time this season that the Aggies have allowed more than one goal in a match this season. BYU improves to 19-1-1 and will host the second and third rounds of the NCAA Tournament.
"I couldn't be more proud of this team. We kept going after them and forced them to do things that they weren't comfortable doing, and that was our goal. We had our chances and were the better team at times. It is hard for the season to be over, but I am so proud. They played so incredibly well," USU head coach Heather Cairns said.
Despite the heavy snow on Friday in Provo, the field was cleared and the sun snuck out as the match started. Both teams had to deal with the tough field conditions and unpredictable turf.
Carlee Holmoe had the first threat of the day, but senior goalkeeper Ashlyn Mulford was able to corral the ball and keep the Cougars off the scoreboard. Despite several early chances in the first 10 minutes of the match, the Aggie backline stood strong.
USU had its first shot on goal in the 27th minute when junior forward Mari Miyashiro fired a shot to BYU goalkeeper Erica Owens.
The Cougars got on the board first in the 30th minute when Jessica Ringwood took advantage of a slip in the USU defense and pushed the ball past Mulford to take the early 1-0 lead. The goal is the ninth of the season for Ringwood.
With less than seven minutes left in the half, USU fired off a flurry of shots by sophomore forward Lauren Roundy and junior midfielder Kendra Pemberton that were stopped by either the Cougar backline or by Owens. Both defenses were solid throughout the match.
BYU upped the scored to 2-0 in the 40th minute. Marissa Nimmer came in off the bench and scored her fourth goal of the season after being set up by Ringwood and Paige Hunt.
Utah State came out strong in the second half. In the 47th minute, sophomore defender Taryn Rose started the action with a free kick. Junior defender Jackie Tillotson scored her second goal of the season when she took the
ball after a header by Tarver and knocked the ball past Owens to cut the Cougar lead in half 2-1.
The goal breathed new life into the Aggies. USU had three players with multiple shots, including junior forward Jennifer Flynn, Pemberton and Miyashiro.
In a very physical match, the Aggies hung tough against the taller Cougars. After the Utah State goal, both teams had opportunities. Pemberton challenged Owens in the 81st minute that brushed off of her finger tips and off the cross bar. As time ticked off the clock, the Aggies were not able to score the equalizing goal as the Cougars hung on for the 2-1 win. The Aggies lost by the exact same score that they lost to Auburn last season in the first round.
Utah State will be saying goodbye to a trio of seniors in defenders Natalie Norris and Kami Montgomery and senior goalkeeper Ashlyn Mulford. The three ended their Utah State careers with a phenomenal 47-24-14 record during their four years.
"My four years here at Utah State have been amazing. To watch the program progress as it has especially the last two years, to make history on our own to be able to put everything behind us in the past and continue to move forward has been a major accomplishment for us. I know that from now on every team will strive for the NCAA Tournament," senior Natalie Norris said.