Colorado College women’s soccer fell to Boise State University 3-0 on Friday afternoon, but bounced back to win a close 1-0 game on Sunday against Utah State University. The women now sit in the middle of the pack in the Mountain West division standings, with an even .500 in conference play.
Friday afternoon’s game against Boise State was a one-sided offensive showcase by first-year forward Raimee Sherle. Sherle scored all three goals the Broncos would need to top CC in the second half. Despite an hour-long lightning delay following her first tally, CC wasn’t able to turn the momentum in their own favor. Sherle’s five shots on goal alone matched the Tigers’ shots on goal at the other end of the field. Junior goalkeeper Louisa Mackenzie made three saves for the Tigers.
“You can never have a loss and feel satisfied with yourself and what you did in that game,” said senior forward Chanisse Hendrix. “You are left thinking, ‘maybe if I ran a little faster, or if I shot a little sooner.’ I think that we just needed to finish the opportunities that we had, as well as staying a little more calm and collected when things weren’t going our way, but overall the team fought until the very end and to me that is something to be proud of.”
Hendrix and the Tigers have certainly found their calm and collected side in the second game of the weekend when they took on Utah State on Sunday afternoon. The first half came and went without a goal, with the Aggies and Tigers mustering three and two shots respectively. It wasn’t until two minutes into the second half that CC found the only goal they’d need to come away with the win.
After sophomore forward Clara Richter took a corner kick in the 47th minute, senior midfielder Dana Gornick got the ball from the top of the box to Hendrix, who chipped a shot into the right side of the net for her first goal in nearly two years.
“I felt like a million bucks,” said Hendrix, who was overcome with great emotion on the field. “I nearly broke down and cried, honestly. I have had so many close opportunities to score this season, so to finally get one, and it be the game winner against Utah State was invigorating.”
Gornick’s assist on the goal was maybe her second most important assist in the day. Early in the game, in the 17th minute, a header by Aggie junior midfielder Wesley Hamblin got past Mackenzie, but Gornick was able to clear the ball right before it crossed the line to keep the score even at 0-0.
CC looks ahead now to some road action this weekend against Colorado State University and the University of Wyoming, teams that sit behind CC in the Mountain West standings. Hendrix said in order to get some points out of the games this weekend, the team simply needs to stick to the script and play their game, always improving in certain areas.
“We approach every weekend looking to improve on things we may have not done so successfully the weekend before, and work as a team and as a family to getssome points on the road,” she said. “Like I said, we just need to maintain being calm and collected throughout the games and believe that we are good enough to get some points and I believe the wins will come.”
The Tigers will face off against Colorado State at 3 p.m. in Fort Collins. Then they will head to Larime, Wyo. to do battle with the Cowgirls on Sunday at 1 p.m.