Colorado Christian men's soccer started their 2017 campaign Friday at 1:30pm against the West Texas A&M Buffs. Three goals in the second half from the Buffs dealt the Cougars a loss for their home opener.

The Cougars played a strong first half, keeping the score 0-0 thanks to strong defensive play. West Texas A&M remained persistent offensively with eleven shots in the first half, while CCU had five. Each of the five shots was made by a different Cougar, which shows the versatility of the offense that is to come. Both teams had starting freshman goalkeepers, who had an impressive start to their college career. CCU's Taylor Budzinski finished with seven saves, and West Texas A&M's Alexander Vencel finished with five.

CCU matched their shots from the first half with another five in the second, but West Texas A&M added one from their eleven in the first half to twelve. The Buffs got their first goal in the 49^th minute, which was followed by their second nine minutes later. The last goal by The Buffs was made from mid-field on an open-net in the last minute of play.

CCU's freshman starter Dominic Deatherage said, "We came out excited and ready to play. We just need to make a few adjustments as a team for the next game. If we can execute those changes, we will perform well on Monday. It is still very early in the season, and our team is very young, so I believe we will continue to keep getting better." With strong leadership on the team and fresh perspective from the incoming players, The Cougars overall looked put together but eager. 

The Cougars will host another preseason game this Monday, September 4^th against The University of Mary at 6PM at Trailblazer Stadium.