Colorado College (2-0-0) secured a 1-0 victory over Drake University (0-2-0) on Sunday at Stewart Field. The decisive goal came in the second half, marking the Tigers' second consecutive win to start the season. Notably, this is the first time the team has started 2-0 since the 2020 season.
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First Half
- Drake's Alma Beaton and Zoey Mahoney each posted early attempts, with Mahoney's shot at 9:36 missing just over the top.
- Regan Wallace made a crucial save on a shot by Alexa Aylward at 26:17, maintaining the scoreless tie.
- At 34:15, the Tigers' Natalie Mayo had a shot from just outside the box which was saved by Drake's Kate Hopma, tipping it over the bar and out of play resulting in a corner kick.
- The half concluded with the two teams tied at 0-0.
- The teams would not return to the field for an extended period of time at the half, as a lightning delay that lasted 2 hours and 15 minutes interrupted play and kept the teams in the locker room at the break.
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Second Half
- At 56:47 Finley Schoenbeck made a turn into the box and was taken down by her defender, the foul was whistled, resulting in a Colorado College penalty kick after a brief video review. Ella Ashouri converted the penalty kick to put CC ahead. Ashouri has impressively scored in each of the team's first two matches this season.
- Dayleigh Bos and Nadia Cassamajor each had shots on goal shortly after, but both attempts were saved by Drake's goalkeeper, Kate Hopma.
- Paige Millstone of Drake tested the Tigers' defense with a shot at 70:57, but Regan Wallace made the save, preserving the lead and clean sheet.
- Colorado College maintained its 1-0 lead and captured their second win o.
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Regan Wallace recorded two saves and secured a shutout in the match. Ella Ashouri notched the game-winning goal with her only shot of the contest. Dayleigh Bos led the team in shots on goal, with both of her attempts being on target.
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The Tigers hold a record of 2-0-0 after their recent victory. Drake stands at 0-2-0 following its latest match.
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Coach Keri Sanchez's Thoughts
Overall Thoughts on the Performance:
"I thought, again, to start off with, I thought Drake came out with really good energy. I thought they controlled a lot of the play in that first half. We were having some trouble with the formation they were playing; we tried to switch up a little bit to try to help our defensive organization because we just couldn't get control of the ball. Obviously, we had that long break, anything can happen in that, but I was really excited for how our team responded, we thought they did a really good job. We had some time to kind of tactically sort through some things, I thought that they listened well, they executed well, we controlled. To play much, much better. Now we'd love to shoot more than we did in that second half, they did enough to get the win in a season that's as competitive as ours. That's the biggest part.
Adjustments After the First Half, Managing the Delay:
"We were just trying to figure out ways, how can we kind of impart our identity on the game because we thought we were having to play Drake's style of play, which isn't our style of play. It was frustrating, right, because Drake was beating us at their own game, and I thought we did a better job of playing how we wanted to play, got more control of the ball in the midfield, and started to have more confidence, which was fun to watch."
Approach After Taking the Lead, Not Falling into a Defensive Shell:
"You want to give them another 15-20 minutes to see if they can put another one away and stay on the front foot. If Drake would have, the momentum would have shifted a lot, we would have had to go into a little bit more defensive stance. We probably learned from England. Don't go too early."
Message to the Team Ahead of First Road Trip:
"Take the confidence, right, but don't doubt, now we're going to go test them. In order to win a championship, we're going to have to be able to win at home and also on the road. Now this is our test to go see if we can win on the road."
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Looking ahead, Colorado College will travel to face UTSA on Thursday, Aug. 20, at 5:35 p.m. MT in San Antonio, Texas.
