GUNNISON, Colo.  Ellie Kubena's free kick from 45 yards out found the back of the University of Colorado Colorado Springs goal for the game-winner with just 14 seconds remaining in Sunday's Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference women's soccer game at Katy O. Rady Field.

JUST THE FACTS
Final score: Western def. UCCS, 2-1
Records: Western 2-4-1 (1-0 RMAC), UCCS 2-4-2 (0-2)
Location: Katy O. Rady Field, Gunnison, Colo.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Western's Hadley Collins drew a Mountain Lions foul as the clock ticked toward 30 seconds left in the game, setting up a free kick from well away from the goal.
• Kubena lined up for the free kick and rather than lofting something into the box looking for a Western header, she took a hard swipe that curled toward the upper, right corner. UCCS goalkeeper Izzy Lalouette never got a bead on the trajectory, the shot glancing off outstretched gloves and into the goal.
•  Western was heavily outshot, 16-2, during first-half action, but one of those shots came off the head of Malia Ramdhanny on a corner kick from Cianna Thomas. Ramdhanny leapt high and directed a shot to the right of Lalouette for a Mountaineer lead in the 27th minute.
• Aubree Orosco had made seven saves in the first half to keep UCCS off the scoreboard, but the Mountain Lions found the equalizer in the 58th, when a shot from Amelia McManus deflected off a Western defender and inside the near post.
• UCCS reeled off 11 unanswered shots following that tying goal, four of which made it on frame where Orosco was able to come up with the save each time.
• The final-minute foul on the Mountain Lions' Luka Johnson set up the free kick, and Kubena earned the day's hero badge.

TURF NOTES

• UCCS totaled 31 shots and 14 on goal during the game, while Western had 6 shots and 4 on goal.
• Orosco ended up with 13 saves in the game, the only blemish the odd deflection on McManus' goal.
• The referees were hard at work during the game, whistling for a total of 27 fouls and handing out a pair of yellow cards.
• The win over the Mountain Lions was Western's first in the series since 2015, breaking a UCCS nine-match win streak.
• The Mountaineers opened RMAC play against UCCS for the fourth straight year, previously falling to the Mountain Lions by a combined 12-0 count.
• Western's win in its 2024 RMAC opener is the first for the program since a 7-0 victory over Black Hills State University in 2017.

THEY SAID IT


UP NEXT
RMAC play continues next weekend for Western, with a Friday match at Adams State University and a Sunday match at New Mexico Highlands University.