With its Mountain West Championship fortunes hanging in the balance, Colorado College faces must-win situations this week when the Tigers square off with Fresno State and San Jose State.
CC plays host to the Bulldogs at 3 p.m. Friday, Oct. 21, on Washburn Field, and then flies to San Jose for a noon PT kickoff on Sunday. Fans can watch both of this week's matches for free on the Tiger Sports Network (
www.cctigers.com/watch/) or the Mountain West Network (
www.themw.com/page/watch-live).
Colorado College is 7-9-0 overall and in ninth place in the Mountain West with a 3-5-0 conference mark. The Tigers dropped both games on a weekend for the first time this season, falling at home to the University of Nevada, 1-0, and UNLV, 4-1. Fresno State is 7-8-1 overall and 2-5-1 in the league after splitting a pair of games at home last week.
The Bulldogs, who currently reside in 10th place, defeated Colorado State University, 2-0, on Friday, but dropped a 2-1 decision to the University of Wyoming two days later. San Jose State, 8-4-4 overall and 5-2-1 in the MW, climbed to third place with a pair of victories at home last week. The Spartans cruised to a 3-1 victory over Wyoming on Friday and a 4-1 triumph against Colorado State on Sunday. Â
CC is 1-1-1 in three previous meetings with Fresno State. Last year, the Bulldogs prevailed 1-0 at Stewart Field. In the only previous meeting in Fresno, Calif., Colorado College prevailed, 2-1, in 2014. San Jose State is 2-0-0 all-time against the Tigers, including a 3-2 victory in San Jose in 2014. Last year, the Spartans claimed a 2-0 win at Stewart Field.
Colorado College, which is 3-4-0 at home this season and 4-5-0 on the road, averages 0.94 goals per game while giving up 1.38. The Tigers feature sophomore forward
Clara Richter, who leads the team with five goals and 11 points. Dating back to last year's Mountain West Championship, Richter has notched four of CC's seven game-winning goals.
Sophomore midfielder
Lauren Milliet is second with three goals and seven points, while senior forward
Dana Gornick is tied for first with a pair of assists and third with a pair of goals and six points. Gornick has been involved in three of Colorado College's six game-winning goals this season.
Junior
Louisa Mackenzie, who has started the last eight games, is 3-5-0 in goal with a 1.38 goals-against average and a .656 saves percentage. Mackenzie has three shutouts this season, giving her eight career clean sheets.
Nine of CC's 16 games have been decided by one goal, including two that went to overtime. The Tigers prevailed by identical 1-0 scores in victories over Pittsburgh, Utah Valley, UMass Lowell, New Mexico and Utah State. Colorado College lost 2-1 on an overtime penalty kick at the University of Northern Colorado, 3-2 in overtime against Northern Arizona and then 1-0 at San Diego State and at home against Nevada.
CC's 2016 squad is one of the youngest in head coach
Geoff Bennett's 13-year tenure. With eight sophomores and eight first-year players, two thirds of this year's Tigers are underclassmen. Last Sunday against UNLV, CC's starting 11 included four sophomores and three freshmen. Freshman defender
Aleesa Muir is one of only three Tigers who have started all 16 games.
Colorado College plays its final game of the regular season against Air Force Academy on Friday, Oct. 28, on Washburn Field. The top six teams in the Mountain West qualify for the conference championship, which begins Tuesday, Nov. 1, in San Diego.
Â
Â
