This season's goals have been career firsts for Finley Schoenbeck and Kendall Memoly. On Thursday night under the lights of Stewart Field, the Colorado College women's soccer team relied on Memoly's game-winning and first-career goal to down South Dakota State 1-0 in the home opener.

"Tonight was gritty," head coach Keri Sanchez said. "That's one of our team values and we really showed that tonight."   

SD State finished 2023 with 13 wins, were Summit League regular season and tournament champions, and made an appearance in the '23 NCAA DIvision III Tournamnt, making Thursday's win that much more memorable. 

Knotted up at 0-0 in the 66th minute, Alexis Wessler lined up a free kick from just beyond the midfield mark. After it ricocheted off a Jackrabbit, Memoly was to the right of the goalkeeper and tapped the onward ball into the back of the net to elevate the Tigers for their first win of the season, knocking off last year's Summit League champions. 

"We talked about going after the first ball, but somebody being there to eat up the second ball, and Kendall did a good job to be there ready for that ball to pop out," Sanchez said. 

Thursday was the first-ever match-up between the two programs. It ended in a pleasing victory for the Tigers, who faced their third-consecutive defending conference champion to start the season. 
 
The game ended up being a defensive battle with limited shots on net. The Tigers collected five shots on goal compared to the Jackrabbits' two. 
 
Goalkeeper Regan Wallace faced 13 shots in the first half, only having to make one save. She ended the game with two saves, but there were multiple moments in the second half where the sophomore keeper shut down the opposing attack mid-play to keep the Tigers' lead in play. Wallace collected her first career shutout and her fourth career victory. 
 
Nine players contributed to the shot total, as no player had multiple shots. The Jackrabbits had six players with various shots throughout the game. Emily Hitt, Alex Sandoval, Wessler, Schoenbeck and Memoly all had shots on target.

SD State controlled the overall time of possession, but CC's defense stepped up and shut down all the attacks inside the box. It is the Tigers' first shutout win since Oct. 23, 2022. 

"Before the game, we were talking about being ruthless in both boxes tonight," Sanchez said. "Our ruthlessness helped us keep balls out of the back of our net and helped us put one in to secure the win." 
 
The Tigers will play host again on Sunday as the Bears of Northern Colorado travel down from Greeley after dropping their Thursday night game to Colorado State, 3-0. Kickoff for Sunday's match is set for 6 p.m., with coverage on the Mountain West Network starting shortly before the game.