DENVER  A cautious first half, with a combined total of just eight shots, exploded during second-half action Friday evening  at the Regis Turf Fields as host Regis University and Western Colorado soccer combined for 27 shots, but the three that tickled the nets were by the Rangers in a 3-0 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference defeat of the Mountaineers.

JUST THE FACTS
Final score: Regis def. Western, 3-0
Records: Western 1-11-3 overall (1-4-3 RMAC), Regis 9-2-4 (5-1-3)
Location: Regis Turf Fields, Denver, Colo.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Regis was the aggressor at the start, getting all five of its first-half shots before Western would register its first shot. Goalkeeper Ashlyn Fitzpatrick stopped the only two of the five that made it on frame.
• The Mountaineers began tilting the pitch their way after 31 minutes, getting their three shots clear of defenders but just off the mark, sending the teams into the halftime break deadlocked at 0-0.
• Momentum swung back and forth through the opening 24 minutes of second-half action as Regis strung together a few shots, followed by Western turning the tables and registering shots of their own at the other end, including Cianna Thomas' shot in the 66th that found the crossbar.
• It was in the 70th minute, however, when the scoreboard was finally called into action.
• Regis pressure in its attacking third resulted in a shot from just inside the top of the box that was deflected away by a Mountaineer defender. Unfortunately for Western, Mya Pasion collected the loose ball on the doorstop and stabbed at a shot that swung past Fitzpatrick, who had made the defensive shift toward the original shot's direction.
• Western tried to bounce right back as Caitlin Mazurek's on-frame shot less than four minutes later was saved but not controlled and Thomas found the rebound but her shot was over the crossbar.
• The goal that signaled the end, though, came in the 79th when Regis added a second goal off a cross from the right that was volleyed up into the top, right corner. The Rangers would seal the deal with a third goal late in the 87th.

TURF NOTES

• The Mountaineers outshot the Rangers in the second half, 14-13, and for the game finished just one shot shy of Regis' total, 18-17.
• Fitzpatrick would end the night with six saves, while Rangers netminder Kayla Arucan would make five, all in the second half.
• Western's attack wasn't short on ….. attacking. Natsuki Murakami, Jordan Welsh, and Mazurek each had three shots during the game, and were three of 10 Mountaineers to register at least one shot in the contest.

UP NEXT
Western travels to a game for the first time this season out of state, moving on from Denver to Spearfish, S.D., where on Sunday it will take on host Black Hills State (4-7-4, 1-6-2), which dropped a 1-0 decision Friday to visiting Fort Lewis College.