Salt Lake City, UT – The Cougars took on the Griffins at Dumke field in the RMAC opener, falling 2-1 to Westminster. After the Griffins found the opening goal, the Cougars fought back to level at 1-1, however, the Griffins found the game winner just 20 minutes later to seal the victory.
The Griffins wasted no time getting on the scoreboard, finding the back of the net in the eighth minute to take an early 1-0 advantage. A fire lit under their feet, the Cougars continued to push, looking for an answer before the halftime break. CCU put together several opportunities, including shots on target from
Ava Haas,
Noelle Mingo and
Alexis Byrd, but Westminster goalkeeper Marin Mackenzie kept the Cougars off the board.
Trailing 1-0 coming out of the break, the Cougars came out determined and ready to respond. In the 54th minute,
Sophia Tagge would find the equalizer, finishing off a feed from
Alexis Byrd to bring the match level at 1-1. An incredible run and cutback from Byrd found the feet of Tagge, smashing the ball top left bins, Tagge's second goal in as many games.
With the match even, both sides continued to battle for the advantage, seasons on the line. Westminster would be the ones to find the break through in the 74th minute, finding the back of the net to put the Griffins back in front, 2-1.
The Cougars continued to fight through the final minutes, looking to find one last equalizer. A late corner in the 81
st minute would be the Cougars best chance as they desperately searched for the equalizer. Despite the late push, Westminster held on to secure the 2-1 victory.
A gut wrenching loss, the Cougars fought till the end, a fantastic run of form in the latter half of the season. Head coach
Caleb Cole spoke on the game, stating, "Proud of the team today, a lot of travel and playing away in Salt Lake is always a challenge. We talked about moving the ball at half time and we believed we could get a goal back. Byrd set up Sohpia for a brilliant finish. One of the best goals of the season from my perspective.
Very happy with how hard we competed and how we faced adversity today."
Colorado Christian wrapped up the season at 5-9-5 overall and 4-6-2 in RMAC play, earning its second RMAC Tournament appearance in the last three seasons.
