AUG 29, 2024 | NEWS | By Lilly Asano (Sports Section Editor)
For the first time since 2022, the Colorado College women’s soccer team won back-to-back games earlier this month.
After a winless opening weekend in Missoula, Mont., over Aug. 16 and 18, the Tigers collected their first season win on Aug. 22 against South Dakota State University. Three days later, they defeated the University of Northern Colorado to achieve their first consecutive victory in over a year.
For Head Coach Keri Sanchez, the wins were a reminder of Colorado College tradition and a testament to her player’s resilience — or as she put it, “grit.”
“I think there’s that extra bit of fight and heart that we lost a little bit of last year that’s back, but we want to talk about what are these little things that have changed,” Sanchez said.
The Tigers only won three games in their 18-game regular season last year, finishing 3-12-3 overall and 3-7-1 within the Mountain West conference. Without generating winning results, frustration and lost confidence created what Sanchez refers to as “islands.” Rather than playing as a unit, players felt alone on the field, harming their cohesiveness and communication.
While 20 roster players returned for the academic year, Sanchez believed the key to the team’s success would be rebuilding self and interdependent confidence, both elements they lost last year. Belief became a team value over the spring, and with the help of her nine seniors, the Tigers spent the off-season developing confidence.
“More than half of [the seniors] are probably on the field at a given time. You can feel that sense of urgency,” Sanchez shared. “We do have younger players that are fighting really really hard to send those seniors in a much better fashion than we did to our seniors last year, because we felt like we let our seniors down last year and we don’t want to repeat that.”
The coaching staff has noticed a revival of individual confidence, and maintaining that confidence could be the key to the team’s success. Players, like midfielder Kendall Memoly ‘27, have settled into new roles and sureness on the field, creating opportunities for the Tigers to produce their desired results.
Memoly played in 17 games as a freshman but wasn’t a top-point producer or statistics leader, and Sanchez recognized her drive to be a critical component for success. On Aug. 22, Memoly had that opportunity when she scored the game-winning goal against SDSU. Three nights later, Memoly raised the score to 2-0 against UNC.
“She plays really well [and] keeps possession for us. She’s one of those quarterbacks when you’re midfield…She has good vision. [She’s a] good soccer player,” Sanchez said.
While early in their season campaign, the team’s resilience isn’t only mental grit. The Tigers have also reevaluated and worked on relentless defensive and forward strategies, and Sanchez emphasizes the importance of not giving up easily.
“[Grit] links us with our tradition. If you talked to our former alums, that was one thing that ties our generations together,” the head coach continued.
“At Colorado College, we’ve always been known as the gritty team that plays with emotion and heart, and gives everything. If we’re going to go down, we’re going to go down scratching and doing anything we can to try to win a game. Since last year, we’ve lost a little bit of ourselves and it’s fun to see that back.”
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