Colorado Christian's bid for the RMAC crown was ended on Wednesday afternoon as they were defeated by Regis University in the first round of the conference tournament. The two teams played to a 0-0 draw through 110 minutes of play, but Regis was able to secure the win after winning the penalties.
 
The Cougars didn't show any sign of being scared in their first RMAC tournament game in 15 years, as the team settled in quickly.Heading into the game, the CCU defense had not given up a goal in three straight games, and that streak continued on Wednesday. Kennady McCullough, Madison Hogan, Caitlyn Troupe and Meghan Troupe played tremendous the entire game, and had a huge part in sending the game into penalty kicks.
 
Senior goalkeeper Shaya Lawrence got the start in net for the Cougs, and had a great game as she was able to keep the Regis offense off of the board throughout the duration of regulation, and both overtime periods. She saw 23 shots during the 110 minutes of play, and saved all seven shots that were headed for the goal.  
 
The Cougars had two good scoring chances in the second half, and nearly capitalized on both of them. In the 61^st minute, Alyssa Regalado was able to get behind the Rangers defense and had a breakaway towards the Regis goal. Regalado's shot attempt was saved by the Regis keeper which prevented CCU from taking the lead. The second chance came in the 68^th minute after a foul on Regis set up a free kick from 30 yards out. Lauren Cardoza took the kick and sent it sailing towards the Regis goal. The ball missed heading into the back of the net by inches, as it hit off of the crossbar and deflected away from the goal.
 
After two scoreless overtime periods, the game headed into penalty kicks. Each team would have five shots on goal, with the winner being the one who scored the most. Shaya Lawrence stood in goal first, as the Cougars were in the favorable position of kicking second. Lawrence played the first shot attempt perfectly, as she came up with the huge save to give her team a chance to go up early. Caitlyn Troupe took the first kick for CCU, but was denied as her shot hit the post and bounced away. The second shot attempt from Regis sailed high, which gave Colorado Christian another chance to steal the momentum. Jayla Elstad took the second kick, but bad luck struck again, and her shot hit the cross bar and bounced away.
 
Regis was able to find the back of the net with their third attempt, which applied the pressure to the Cougs. Madison Hogan took the third kick, but her shot narrowly missed, which kept the advantage on the Rangers side. Regis scored on their fourth kick which meant that CCU needed to hit on their final two attempts, and Regis needed to miss their final shot in order to extend the match. Madison Stanton stepped up to take the fourth kick, but her shot just missed to the right, which gave Regis the victory.
 
It was a hard fought loss for the team, but they have nothing to hang their heads about. Head coach Tammy McPherson spoke about her team after the game saying, "I am very pleased with the season, and extremely proud of our players. It is a privilege to coach them. I want to give a special shout out to seniors for their dedication and their sacrifice for this team. Shaya was unbelievable today!
 
With the loss, CCU was eliminated from the RMAC tournament, but does not end their season. They will be back in action in two weeks as they compete in the NCCAA regional tournament which is being hosted by the Cougars. The tournament will take place on Nov. 17^th-19^th.