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WSOvRegis-261016-Kindt_05332
2
Winner Western Colo. WSCU (6-7-1, 4-5-1)
1
MSU Denver MSUD (3-9-4, 2-7-1)
Winner
Western Colo. WSCU
(6-7-1, 4-5-1)
2
Final
1
MSU Denver MSUD
(3-9-4, 2-7-1)
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Western Colo. WSCU 2 0 2
MSU Denver MSUD 0 1 1

Game Recap: Women's Soccer | | Gregg Petcoff

Soccer Climbs Closer to Postseason

DENVER  Pushing for a spot in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference women's soccer postseason, Western Colorado inched closer with Friday evening's 2-1 victory over host MSU Denver, defeating the Roadrunners for just the second time in program history.

JUST THE FACTS
Final score: Western def. MSUD, 2-1
Records: Western 6-7-1 overall (4-5-1 RMAC), MSU Denver 3-9-4 (2-7-1)
Location: The Assembly Athletic Complex, Denver, Colo.

HOW IT HAPPENED
  • The Mountaineers mounted pressure in its attacking third almost from the opening kick, registering the opening two shots of the game, the second a Jordan Welsh on-frame shot necessitating a save by Roadrunner goalkeeper Morgan Shirley.
  • Shirley could do nothing with the third shot, though, coming off a perfectly placed corner kick from her right.
  • In the 13th minute, Natsuki Murakami lofted her kick toward the back post along the goal box line where Adah Minikel-Lacocque raced in, beating everyone to the punch with a sharp header back across Shirley's positioning and into the left side of the goal.
  • The goal was Western's first in the series since a 2-2 draw in 2023.
  • The Roadrunners tilted the pitch from the 25th minute onward, but Western finally flipped things back their way with a Minikel-Lacocque shot on frame saved by Shirley in the 35th.
  • The Mountaineers generated two corner kick opportunities then, and the second was the charm. The set play failed to score, but a Roadrunner defender tried to clear from inside the box and the attempt was deflected only to the midpoint of MSU Denver's half. Unmarked, Lauren Kindt reeled back and launched a line drive that no one was prepared for, including Shirley, and the shot creased the post to score a 40-foot attempt and put Western ahead, 2-0 just before the halftime break.
  • Early in second half action, in the 52nd, Sandra Swartz scored to halve the Roadrunners' deficit, but that would be all the home team would muster as Western walked off with the long sought-after win.
TURF NOTES
  • Addison Blick would earn the win in goal for Western, needing to make just two saves as the defenders in front of her kept the Roadrunners from presenting many dangerous opportunities.
  • The Mountaineers outshot MSU Denver 8-4 in first-half action, then finished the game with a 14-12 advantage.
  • Western played a clean game committing just one foul, compared to eight fouls and a yellow by the Roadrunners.
  • The win was important in keeping the Mountaineers solidly in eighth place – for the eight-team RMAC playoffs – but the team just behind them in the standings had a winning Friday night, and the seventh-place team Western is chasing, Westminster University, pulled out a draw on the road to build a two-point cushion in the league standings.
UP NEXT
Western continues its weekend road trip, moving across town to Lakewood, Colo., where it will square off against Colorado Christian Univesity on Sunday at 11 a.m.
    
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