Thirty-three years later, Cydney Scarano can recall that chilly weekend in November 1980 as if it were yesterday.

"I remember thinking to myself 'It's cold, there's two inches of snow on the ground and the dirt feels really thin, so your cleats can't really dig in," says the wife of former Colorado College Director of Athletics Marty Scarano. "And the altitude was a little bit of a factor."

Cydney Archer at the time, she was a starting outside midfielder for the Cortland State University team that traveled in two vans from central New York to participate in the first national championship for collegiate women's soccer – right here on the CC campus. The host Tigers, coached at the time by Tournament Director Steve Paul, did not even enter the competition, instead deferring to eight "more deserving" programs from around the country.

Cydney's sister Leslie, a starting outside back, also played for the Red Dragons, who steamrolled past the University of Northern Colorado (3-0), Harvard (3-0) and UCLA (5-1) on successive days to claim the title before making the long trip back home. A police escort met them once they got close, and when they arrived at their own campus, a huge reception awaited them.

"At that point, we're thinking 'I guess we did something significant,'" Cydney Scarano recalls. "It definitely was a huge step for women's soccer."

A year later, in 1981, the tournament took place at the University of North Carolina, a perennial powerhouse in the sport, and was sanctioned for the first time by the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW). The NCAA took over in 1982 and the rest is history - with 327 schools fielding Division I teams today.

Colorado College, the birthplace of the NCAA Women's Soccer Championships, adds another chapter on Saturday when the Tigers play host to Duke University in the 2013 opening round.
Although they didn't participate in 1980, the Tigers are no strangers to the tournament. Since attaining varsity status in 1978, CC has earned a total of 11 bids including eight years in a row from 1984 through 1991 as well as in 2006, 2012 and now again this fall under Head Coach Geoff Bennett.

In 1986, the sport's version of the "Final Four" was held for the second consecutive year in Fairfax, Va., on the campus of George Mason University, where newly elected Colorado Senator Tim Wirth sought out a rookie sports information director in the stands to wish "their" team the best in the national semifinals against the University of Massachusetts.

Colorado College advanced with a 1-0 shootout victory that day as freshmen Shelley Separovich, Maryclaire Robinson and Kerri Tashiro converted on their post-overtime penalty kicks while UMass could sneak only one of four PK attempts past four-time All-America goalkeeper Janine Szpara.

"That was a mean game, not very friendly – just a hard-fought battle," says Jenny Hickman, a junior forward for CC that season and a Colorado Springs resident since. "Then it went into overtime. We were pooped, and of course, had to play Carolina, of all teams, the next day.
 
"We ended up playing a really good game, though. We just didn't put the ball in the net." 

On Nov. 19, 1986, in their first of two national championship games, the Tigers dropped a 2-0 decision to UNC (which six years earlier had been knocked out of the 1980 competition by finalist UCLA in an earlier round) despite dictating play for much of the second half. Legendary Tar Heels Coach Anson Dorrance, whose squad clung to a 1-0 lead until adding a late insurance goal, had high praise for his opponents afterward.

"I was impressed with the fact they never buckled under our pressure," Dorrance said. "There were situations in the second half where they had excellent chances to finish…When people talk about women's soccer west of the Mississippi, they've certainly got to take Colorado College into account."

Earlier that same season, in its only trip to Colorado Springs since, North Carolina escaped with a 3-0 victory. But that match, too, could have gone either way as CC's Charry Korgel, with the visitors up only 1-0, nearly knocked the net over with a rocket from 23 yards out that hit the crossbar. Who knows how the momentum might have changed with the score tied?


Stewart Field, where the Tigers own a 9-0 record this season, never has been a very friendly venue for Colorado College opponents. In 293 all-time matches on its home turf, including a couple dozen at Washburn Field, CC has won or tied 254 times with only 39 losses. That's a winning percentage of .826, but in Bennett's 10 seasons at the helm, the team has been even better at home at 71-10-11 (.832).
 
Saturday's contest against Duke, one of eight Atlantic Coast Conference teams (including North Carolina) in the field of 64, marks the team's third appearance in the NCAA tournament since 2006 but its first at home since the exact same date in 1991. That year, playing the longest match in program history in near blizzard conditions on a field that needed to be plowed at halftime, the Tigers advanced with a 1-0 overtime victory over Stanford when Annie Hull scored after 129 minutes and 52 seconds of nail-biting action. 
 
This year's sequel promises to be another special day, regardless of the outcome. But if the past is any indication, we can expect some magic – especially with the likes of All-Conference USA first-teamers Jessie Ayers, Kate Scheele, Katie Uyenishi and Kaeli Vandersluis giving it their all for the home team. Every game from here on could be the last for a group of seniors including Uyenishi, Sarah Haizlip, Kecia Morway and Madison Whitehead, so the Blue Devils will have their work cut out.
 
These 2013 Tigers, well aware and respectful of their predecessors' accomplishments, are on a mission of their own. They felt the sting of a first-round defeat as an at-large NCAA selection a year ago, and as C-USA regular-season and playoff champs this time around, they're hungry to prolong what already has been a Cinderella season.
 
"The big thing for them right now is that they're ready to make their own history," says Bennett. "I think they're ready to not just be happy to be here, but to win a game then move on to another game and win that game. They want to see how far this team can go. They want to create their own legacy."
 
Before heading to Virginia in 1986, CC beat Cal-Berkeley 1-0 at home in the opening round. Three years later, en route to their second appearance in the national championship match (and fourth of five altogether in the NCAA semifinals), the Tigers opened tournament play with a 5-2 thumping of Massachusetts at Stewart Field.
 
Those victories represent another small sampling of the highlights that have perpetuated a rich tradition and helped define women's soccer at Colorado College for more than three decades. Having the chance to add yet another unforgettable memory to the list on Saturday, at home, provides validation that one of the sport's pioneer programs is still thriving after all these years.  
 
"That's what we really wanted from this fall, obviously because we had a good season last year (2012) – winning a share of the conference title, getting an at-large bid and playing in the NCAAs again," Bennett says. "So how do you take a step forward from that? I think that was this group's focus.
 
"It was 'Win the conference outright, which we did; win the conference tournament, which they'd never done before, and did; and get a home game for the NCAAs. When you look at it from that perspective, we're taking the proper steps in the right directions."