Colorado College finally faced off against Wyoming in a Mountain West Conference quarterfinal match on Wednesday morning, after the original Tuesday evening game was canceled due to a lightning storm. The game was definitely worth the wait as the Tigers came away with a victory. No. 5 ranked CC took down No. 4 ranked Wyoming with a final score of 1-0.
The Tigers took the lead early. Senior midfielder Sarah Schweiss was taking the ball down the field when she was swarmed by two Wyoming defenders. Schweiss sent a pass to freshman midfielder Clara Richter. At the 15:29 mark, Richter scored from 14 yards out, shooting the ball past Wyoming’s goalie into the right side of the net. “I got a perfect ball from Sarah,” Richter said. “I just hit it on a first touch, and it went in. It was great.”
The goal was the freshman’s first game-winning goal of her career. The goal was Richter’s fourth of the season and it was Schweiss’ third assist of the season. Schweiss has also been named the Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year.
The rest of the first period was neck-and-neck, but neither team was able to score. The Tigers had a couple opportunities to increase their lead. First, at the 19:41 mark, freshman midfielder Madison Tominello had a shot on goal that was blocked. Next, with less than 10 minutes remaining in the first period, Richter took a shot from the middle of the box, but Wyoming’s goalie managed to deflect the shot with her legs.
Soon after, CC’s goalie, sophomore Louisa Mackenzie made two saves, preserving the Tiger’s fifth shut-out of the season. “Our players followed the tactical plan brilliantly,” head coach Geoff Bennett said. “They get all the credit. At halftime, we said bend, don’t break, and do the little things right.”
The second half remained scoreless although the Tigers outshot Wyoming 5-2. However, in total, both teams only had four shots on goal for the entire game. The Tiger’s last shot on goal happened with only minutes remaining in the game. Wyoming saved the shot made by freshman midfielder Lauren Milliet. Mackenzie finished with two more saves, one off of a header shot at the 62:45 mark and the other, the final shot of the game, at the 88:16 mark.
