Colorado Christian women's soccer opened up their 2016 season with a bang, as they earned a 2-1 victory against Montana State University Billings. After a defensive first half which ended 0-0, both team's offenses came out firing in the second half. CCU got the last laugh, and are now 1-0-0 to open the year.
 
The defense reigned supreme in the first half as neither team was able to gain any traction on the offensive end. Both teams finished the first with only one shot on goal. Head coach Tammy McPherson fired her team up at halftime, as they came out of the break on a mission.
 
The second half opened up with the two teams exchanging offensive chances, but CCU finally broke through in the 57^th minute thanks to sophomore Kielli Jordan. Jordan took advantage of a MSUB mistake when the defender attempted to pass the ball back to her goalkeeper on their end of the field. The pass was stolen by Jordan who then juked the goalkeeper out of position and put the ball in the back of the net to give the Cougars a 1-0 lead.
 
The defense held the lead as long as they could, but MSUB netted the equalizer in the 70^th minute off of a rebound from a shot that hit the cross bar. CCU answered quickly after the game-tying goal. Kielli Jordan was in the mix again as she fed Sarah Feller a perfect pass which left the Yellow Jackets' keeper as the only line of defense. Feller deposited it into the back of the net. It was the first collegiate goal for Feller, and it came at the perfect time as she put her team back in the lead, which led to the victory.
 
MSU Billings did everything they could to tie up the game, but Cougar goalkeeper Mallory VanVoorhis slammed the door shut as she made several crucial saves down the stretch. Caitlyn Troupe, Meghan Troupe, Hannah Triem, and Kennady McCullough all had great games on the defensive end of the ball as they kept the offensive attack from MSUB in check all game long.
 
Offensively, the Cougs unleashed the tremendous trio of Alyssa Regalado, Kielli Jordan, and Sarah Feller. Combined between them, they had nine of the 11 shots for the team, and accounted for both goals and an assist. They took over in the second half and easily could have had a couple more goals if it were not for some great saves made by the Yellow Jackets' goalkeeper. Sarah Butler was another freshman that had a great game and provided a spark for the team off the bench. She utilized her speed to breakaway and give the team scoring chances. Butler finished with two shots in the game.
 
When the final buzzer sounded, Colorado Christian had secured the first victory for the program in nearly two years. The last win for women's soccer was November 2^nd, 2014 when they beat Western State. The victory is something that will build momentum moving forward. They will be back in action on Sunday afternoon when they face off against Texas A&M International University. The game will be at Trailblazer Stadium in Lakewood, CO and is scheduled to start at 1:30PM.