GUNNISON, Colo. - Playing in their final regular season road match of the season, the Black Hills State University women's soccer team fell to Western Colorado by a score of 3-1 at Katy O'Rady Field, giving the Green & Gold their second road loss of the year in back-to-back outings. Following an equalizing goal by Ivy Agee in the 48th minute, the Mountaineers responded with a pair of their own goals just five minutes apart as they utilized a strong offensive attack that out-shot BHSU in the match.
QUICK DETAILS
Score: Black Hills State 1, Western Colorado 3
Team Records: Black Hills State 9-3-3 (6-3-1 RMAC), Western Colorado 5-7-1 (3-5-1 RMAC)
Attendance: 147
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Despite the first three shot attempts of the contest coming from Black Hills State's Samantha Nunez, who had two, and Ally Boysen within the first eight minutes of action, Western Colorado was able to land five shots on target in the opening half compared to zero by the Yellow Jackets.
- Rian Barthel made a pair of saves in the 8th minute and 17th minute, first picking up a slow rolling shot from close inside the box from Jordan Welsh and then deflecting a shot from close range from Ava Odil. The deflection, however, saw the ball bounce back into play to Odil who placed the ball into the back of the net while Barthel was looking to recover positioning. The goal gave the Mountaineers a 1-0 advantage.
- Barthel made another pair of saves late in the opening half, first securing a shot off a bounce from the top of the box by Odil in the 37th minute, and then in the 42nd minute she dove to deflect the ball away from the upper left corner of the net as Lauren Kindt fired a shot off a 25-yard free kick attempt.
- Ivy Agee evened the score at one in the 48th minute as she capitalized off a mistake by Mountaineer goalkeeper Ashlyn Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick misplayed the pass forward to her defenders directly to Agee, and she finished the play by sending the ball into the open net from 20 yards out.
- Western Colorado added a pair of goals in a five-minute span shortly after the equalizer, as Welsh took the ball back from Clara Moldenhauer and worked her way into the right side of the box before shooting the ball across the box and into the left side of the net in the 55th minute to give WCU the 2-1 edge. Then in the 60th minute Adah Minikel-Lacocque drew a foul in the box and then netted a penalty kick goal into the right side of the net to make it a 3-1 advantage.
- Barthel remained active in goal the remaining 30 minutes of action, making an additional four saves for a career-high ten saves.
- Following Agee's goal, the Yellow Jackets tallied four shots on goal, which included a shot from straightaway 25 yards out by Bailey Smith in the 58th minute, another straightaway 25-yard shot that took one bounce into the keepers' hands by Nunez in the 61st minute, off a third consecutive corner kick Agee tracked down the ball and fired a shot from 35 yards out that bounced into the goalkeepers' hands in the 85th minute, and then Daniela Rodriguez sent in a 35-yard shot on the run that bounced into the hands of the goalkeeper in the 90th minute.
- Black Hills State held a 10-4 advantage in saves, while Western Colorado held a 32-20 advantage in shots, a 13-5 advantage in shots on goal, and a 5-4 edge in corner kicks.
FULL GAME HIGHLIGHTS
BLACK HILLS STATE STATISTICAL LEADERS
Ivy Agee: 6 shots, 2 shots on goal, 1 goal
Samantha Nunez: 3 shots, 1 shot on goal
Sydney Stephan: 3 shots
Rian Barthel: 10 saves
UP NEXT
Black Hills State returns home to the Black Hills Power Sports Complex in Spearfish for the final three matches of the regular season, beginning with a 7 p.m. contest on Friday, October 23, against Westminster.
