The CCU women's soccer team closed out their opening homestand with another win, giving them a sweep of Adams State and Fort Lewis after defeating the Skyhawks on Sunday by a score of 1-0. The win brings the Cougars record to 4-4-2 overall and 3-3 in RMAC play.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED: The game started off uneventful, with the first shot not coming until the 17th minute, but as CCU rattled off three quick shots, the third found its way into the back of the net. The goal came courtesy of Celeste Ruelas, her first of the season, off a Karli Wilson throw in. With a Skyhawk defender closing in, Ruelas gathered the ball at her feet and lifted the shot over the Fort Lewis keeper, tucking it into the far side netting of the goal. Four more shots would be attempted in the half, but none would count towards the score.
 
The second half saw less shots, just five between the two teams, and more fouls, 11 for each team, but garnered no goals. Fort Lewis released the only shot on goal in the entire half, but CCU keeper Ireland VanDyke made easy work of it to earn her first clean sheet of the season.
 
This weekend was underlined by a strong showing by the Cougar defense. The back line allowed just eight shots on goal in total, and Ireland VanDyke made seven saves on those eight opportunities. Seniors Kennady McCullough and Jameelah Powell anchored the back line, with McCullough adding four blocked shots on the weekend, and Powell shutting off the 18-yard box from the Skyhawk forwards for most of Sunday.
 
QUOTES: Jameelah spoke to the importance of this weekend's results, saying, "After three weeks of traveling, as stressful as it was with school and not getting the wins we should have, taking these two home games really gets on the right track for the rest of the season and hopefully sets us up to win more games."
 
Powell also expanded on the how this game was different from the past few, "We have been struggling to work as a team and today we really improved that by just working together and having confidence in each other that we're going to do our jobs and knowing that the person behind us is going to do their job also."
 
Head coach Tammy McPherson spoke to the importance not only of today's win, but the shutout as well, "This shutout today is evidence of our confidence and composure, but also just staying focused on our marks. It is also a huge confidence booster for the team, it reminds them what they are capable of and is something for them to look back on during future games for confidence."
 
Coach McPherson also mentioned what this sweep means for the team going into the second half of season, "It continues to propel us moving forward and give us confidence as we move up in the conference against tougher teams and hopefully we can snag a few wins and ties and work our way into the RMAC tournament at the end of the season."
 
GAME LEADERS:

• Celeste Ruelas' goal was her first career goal at CCU.
• Today's shut out was the Cougars first since the final RMAC game of 2017, when they defeated Adams State 3-0.
• This weekend's sweep of Adams State and Fort Lewis is the third time in three years that the Cougars have swept these two opponents in the same weekend. The combined scores of the six matches is 10-2.

 
UP NEXT: The Cougars will stay home next weekend and will host the newest RMAC opponent Dixie State University on Friday the 5th and Westminster College on Sunday the 7th. Both games are slated for a 12:00 p.m. kickoff at Trailblazer Stadium in Lakewood, CO.