LAKEWOOD, CO- The Cougars returned to the pitch on a chilly Sunday afternoon with a matchup against the Saints from St. Martins University. It was a great combination of offensive and defensive performances which led the Cougars to earn their first win of the season 1-0.
The match started off with
Drew Brown testing his speed trying to beat the opposing goalkeeper to the ball just missing his shot wide. The Saints would give the Cougars a freekick opportunity with
Adrian Diez standing over it and playing it on the ground to the far post and coming just short. CCU were explosive with their offense in the first half, winning two corner kicks but the Saints were ready for them. Junior
Cole Foresman would win the ball back in the midfield on a great body tackle, finding
Lucca Casci with speed down the near wing and finding a wide open
Lucas Peruzo in the 18 yard box who took his shot and gave the Cougars the 1-0 lead. The Saints would get one shot on goal in the half but
Jai Gillespie read it well to make his only save in the game. That chance would be the last action in the half as the ref sent both teams into halftime with CCU leading 1-0.
The second half started off with Brown taking another shot early to test out St. Martins and winning a corner kick which would be cleared away. The Saints would find some life in them in the half with two corners which the Cougars handled well. A shot way beyond the 18 yard box from St. Martins would rattle off the crossbar and would stay out the net. The game would slow down a bit for both teams but
Tiago Gomes found a shot that just hit the woodwork and was cleared away. St. Martins would have a few more chances but a good defensive game from CCU would take us to the final whistle from the ref as the Cougars claimed their first win of the season 1-0.
The Cougars finished the game with 12 shots overall in the game, and five of them were on goal. They also tacked on seven corner kicks in the contest.
With the win CCU will carry the momentum and return to Trailblazer Stadium in a non-conference matchup against South Dakota Mines on September 25 at 7 p.m. MST.
