The CCU women's soccer team opened their 2017 season on the road today verse the University of Sioux Falls. In a game played windy and rainy conditions, the CCU Cougars fell to 0-1 on the season after losing 2-1 on a late goal by USF.
 
The first half saw CCU take four corner kicks, and take a total of five shots on goal, but were unable to put any of them into the net. USF opened up the scoring mid-way through the first half when midfielder Jackie Montes scored off of a corner kick in the 23^rd minute.
 
The second half saw a change in strategy for CCU, replacing freshman goalkeeper Ireland VanDyke for fellow freshman goalkeeper Ashleigh Maguire. As the second half progressed, USF took four shots but none of them challenged Maguire with all four going well wide of the goal.
 
With two new goalies, the keeper substitution at halftime is commonplace at this point in the season. Head coach Tammy McPherson said, "Both keepers are freshmen, and are playing pretty even, so they're splitting time." With both keepers playing well a true starter has yet to be decided, but it can be assumed that eventually one will claim the full-time position over the other, but with both playing well
 
Coming into the second half down a goal, CCU knew that strategic aggression would be the key to getting onto the scoreboard. Coach McPherson's vision to making that happen was, "switching the field quickly through the back line and playing quickly to the outside. USF was playing compact with a conservative line of confrontation, dropping way back. Therefore, we told our players to play out of pressure with a quick switch and basically play from the outside to the inside once we got into the attack."
 
It took most of the second half, but the plan paid off in the 85^th minute when a steal in the midfield turned into a long volley from freshman midfielder Linnea Mosvold, ultimately culminating in a heavily challenged header that senior midfielder Alyssa Regalado knocked in for the game tying score. The goal was Regalado's first on the season, and her 11^th in her career at CCU.
 
After the equalizing goal, USF was back on their heels and playing a bit frantically. That didn't last long though as they quickly calmed themselves down and regained composure. After a missed clearance by the CCU defense, USF forward Lauren LaFarvre netted the game-winner with less than a minute left in regulation.
 
Looking back at the game, coach McPherson was ultimately very happy with the team and how they played, but there was one clear area for improvement. "We actually played well and dominated the game, but this young team is playing a little too emotional and allowing disappointments to dictate their confidence and composure. I'm really proud of the ladies for always playing fierce with a drive to win and, their ability to come out and execute the strategy for the second half, which helped them score a text book goal However, we lost a little composure in the defensive third with a minute left, which is a time and score scenario for us; disappointing, but definitely a learning experience."
 
CCU Cougars will be back on the pitch on Sunday, September 3^rd, when they play at Wayne State College in Wayne, Nebraska. Game time is 11:00 a.m. Central Time, or 10:00 a.m. Mountain Time.