In a double overtime scoreless tie, Cowgirl’s soccer played against regional rival school Northern Colorado(4-4-1). The Bears had taken the last match against the Cowgirls last September by one goal at the Cowgirl’s home field. Friday the Cowgirl’s brought the fight back to Jackson Stadium, but were unable to win against the Bears.
“The energy we played with was great,” said Cowgirls head coach Pete Cuadrado. “I thought we battled very hard in the game.It was a tough result. I thought with the chances we created we probably deserved better.”
The Cowgirl’s energy on the field has not been reflecting on the scoreboard as convincingly as it should (2-5-1), but their productivity during game time is undeniable from the stat sheets.
With every game the Cowgirls number of shots has gone up increasingly. Last week against South Dakota Wyoming recorded a total of 14 shots, this week the Cowgirls topped that with 16 shots, 10 on goal.
Cowgirls senior Alison Clarke, sophomore Laurel Ramer, freshman Tristan Tyrrell, and redshirt freshman Candace Sciberras all tallied three shots, Sciberras’s were all on goal, while her teammates Clarke and Tyrell each had two.
UNCO took as many shots as their goalkeeper sophomore Kaitlin Ruff had saved, with 10 shots and only half of them were on goal. Ruff played the entire 110 minutes of play while Cowgirl goalkeepers split the game, freshman Georgia Rowntree played 45 minutes with four saves and senior Alex Bohem played the remaining 65 minutes with two saves.
“I thought we created quite a few chances in front of the net,” said Coach Cuadrado. “I thought our goalkeepers, defenders and mids were all very good.”
Offensively, the Cowgirls monopolized the first half of regulated play. In comparison to Wyoming’s 10 shots in the first half, the Bears took a mere three shots. Five of the Cowgirl’s 10 shots in the first half came within the first twelve minutes of play. Scriberras led the team in shots, recording all three in the first half.
Statistically this season the Cowgirls have taken more shots in the second half of play than the first, resulting in more goals in the second half. This game the Cowgirls took only four shots in the second. The bears remained consistent in their attack with five shots in the second half. Two of those shots came in consecutive corner kicks but both yielded no results. The Bears had a season high of eight corner kicks over the match, but were unable to capitalize on any of them.
In the double overtime, consistency and drive did not waiver. Each team had a total of two shots, and one save each.
The tie marked the second shutout for the Cowgirl’s this season; the first was against Montana in August in Laramie, Wyo.
Wyoming will return to Laramie, having finished our their 6 game road stint and come back with a double header.
“Being at home, I think we are all a bit relieved to be playing in front of our home crowd,” said Coach Cuadrado. “[We are] Continuing to work on our attack and getting our shots off quicker, along with preparing for a bit of a different system that Nevada will throw at us.”
Friday the Cowgirls will face Nevada at 1 p.m. in the Louis S. Madrid Complex, followed by UNLV on Sunday at 3 p.m.
