NOV 7, 2024 | SPORTS | By Lilly Asano
Snowflakes fell on Weidner Field’s blue awnings and landed on the shoulders of spectators. Cold water splashed up on the players as they ran, and the white soccer ball was traded for a neon green ball, easier to see in the snow.
Nine minutes into the second half, Colorado College fans rose to their feet. With 34 minutes remaining in the City for Champions Cup, the Tigers were ahead 2-0, poised to win their first campaign in the program.
The win led CC women’s soccer to the cusp of the Mountain West conference playoffs, but a night later the team received heartbreaking news. Falling just short of the sixth and final spot in the playoffs, their 8-9-3 season was over.
In the first snow of the year on Oct. 30, CC drove past the Air Force Academy and defeated their crosstown rival 2-1. The game, held in Weidner Field, home of the Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC, capped the Tigers’ regular season and delivered a final hard-fought victory for the team.
“Grit is one of our words for the year, and it is one of the things we probably improved most this season,” head coach Keri Sanchez told CC Athletics following the game. “It came tonight with handling the elements. We started off with rain, got some snow, and some crazy stuff was happening. We did the right things to ensure we came out on the right side of the game tonight.”
The program began in 2022 after nearly four years of planning and collaboration. According to Colorado Springs Sports Corp, the City for Champions Cup “aims to showcase the talent of these young women in the hopes of inspiring other young women and girls to learn and grow the sport of soccer.”
In 2022, the Tigers lost 0-1. The following year, the teams tied the game 0-0, and as the previous winner, the Air Force Falcons retained the trophy. This year, however, the Tigers fought hard in the snow and denied Air Force their third consecutive win.
Brett Tsamasfyros ‘25, Kendall Memoly ‘27 and Finley Schoenbeck ‘28 drove the Tigers past the Air Force Falcons. The trio leads the team in goals and points and have scored 16 of the team’s total 21 goals this season. Tsamasfyros finished her senior season with six goals and two assists, followed by Memoly and Schoenbeck, both logging five goals and a singular assist.
Memoly placed the Tigers on the scoreboard 20 minutes into the game. Tsamasfyros found Memoly open before the goal, passing to her from the right corner. The sophomore eluded the Falcons’ goalkeeper Kylie McElroy and scored the Tigers’ first goal in the City for Champions Cup, ending their three-year goal drought against the Falcons.
Despite low visibility and heavy snowflakes, rookie Schoenbeck furthered the lead to 2-0 in the 54th minute. Memoly assisted Schoenbeck on the goal.
The Falcons narrowed the score to 2-1 when Annika Jost found an opening behind Tigers’ goalkeeper Regan Wallace ‘27 at 73:10, but the Falcons couldn’t close the gap. The trophy belonged to the Colorado College Tigers.
While they ultimately fell short of making the playoffs, the Tigers showed promise of a program on the rise. Grit, as Sanchez stated, pushed the Tigers toward success.
“[Grit] links us with our tradition,” Sanchez told The Catalyst on Aug. 27. “If you talked to our former alums, that was one thing that ties our generations together. At Colorado College, we’ve always been known as the gritty team that plays with emotion and heart and gives everything.”
After an abysmal 3-13-2 season record last year, the Tigers generated new offensive output and defensive strength this season. On Oct. 30, they outshot Air Force 11-4 in the first half and 7-6 in the second. At a perfectly fitting time with Homecoming Weekend, Sanchez proved that her team was what they set out to be. Gritty and relentless.