Lakewood, CO – The Cougars hosted Fort Lewis at Trailblazer Stadium Friday morning, earning their second consecutive shutout with a 1-0 victory over the Skyhawks.
Brooke Berens netted the game-winner, while Kunitz came up big between the posts, making an astounding 10 saves to keep Fort Lewis off the scoreboard.
A crisp October morning saw a fierce start to the game, each team looking for the opening goal early. Both teams traded chances in the opening 15 minutes, with
Jordyn Rollins getting an early shot on target for the Cougars before Fort Lewis responded with a pair of attempts of their own.
The Cougars continued to push forward, with
Kayla Truong nearly curling the ball top bins in the 31st minute, forcing a save from the Fort Lewis keeper. CCU continued to find chances in the attacking third, eventually breaking through in the 37th minute. A transition moment would find the Cougars in the attacking third, seemingly thwarted as the Skyhawks managed to win the ball back momentarily.
Lexi Taitague would come flying in, making a crunching tackle and finding the feet of Berens. Cutting inside, Berens whipped a ball from her left foot past the keeper into the side netting for her second goal of the season. The goal put the Cougars up 1-0 going into halftime, both sides even on shots and corner kicks.
Fort Lewis looked to respond coming out of the break, but
Kenzie Kunitz stood strong in net, making a save just two minutes into the second half.
Alexis Byrd would put a shot on target in the 54th minute, but the Fort Lewis keeper came up with the save to keep the game within one.
The Skyhawks continued to press for an equalizer throughout the second half, firing off 10 shots after the break. Kunitz would come up big for the Cougars, recording nine saves in the second half alone to keep Fort Lewis off the scoreboard. A combo of heartfelt defending and the brilliance of Kunitz kept the Skyhawks at bay, the game ending 1-0 in favor of the Cougars.
Kunitz led the team with 10 saves, as Berens was extremely efficient of the bench, scoring on her only shot of the game.
Now their second win in a row, head coach
Caleb Cole spoke on the victory, stating, "The team has been training really well, there's a lot of belief in the team. Noelle and Sophia have really led this week in training, and carried the energy and communication on the field today.
We have a lot of young players contributing, Kenzie got a great shutout today, making several great saves second half!
Brooke Berens got her second goal of the season, its been great to have her back!
It's a team win for sure, they executed the game plan very well. Fort Lewis has a lot of quality, and to win against a strong RMAC team that doesn't concede much feels great for the group! It's been coming for our team, they have been excellent!"
The Cougars are back in action on Sunday the 25
th, hosting the Mountaineers of Western Colorado. Kickoff is set for 11am at Trailblazer Stadium, the Cougars celebrating 11 different seniors.
