Women rout Southwestern Oklahoma

The CSU-Pueblo women’s soccer team ran the visiting Southwestern Oklahoma State University Bulldogs ragged on Friday, scoring goals up until the very last second of the game.  The women claimed a 7-0 victory and raised their season record to 4-3-1.

The ThunderWolves, who won their third game in a row today, put together a complete effort in their demolition of the Bulldogs.  Marli Martin (Sr., West Jordan, Utah) started the scoring by curling a free kick in over the head of the SOSU goalkeeper in the 12th minute.  Beccah Drennan (Jr., Fountain, Colo.) followed suit in the 17th minute when she took a cross from Gabby Gonzales (Fr., Centennial, Colo.) and fired it past the the visiting keeper for a 2-0 lead.

The score line remained 2-0 at halftime, but it wasn’t for a lack of scoring opportunities.  Sydney Hase (Fr., Woodbury, Minn.), on for an injured Rikki Warmack (Jr., Pueblo, Colo.), went close with a header just before the halftime break, and before that, Martin saw a hard shot collected by the SOSU keeper.

“We talked before the game about coming out with a lot of intensity.  We wanted to get on top of them early,” said Coach Dave Morris.  “Then we talked at halftime about finishing the game.”  Whatever was said in the halftime huddle must have worked, because the women came out after the break and turned on the style.

Drennan blazed a shot over the goal just 30 seconds into the half, and moments later, Sarah Deziel (Jr., Eau Claire, Wisc.) struck a hard shot at the SOSU keeper which Brittany Carver almost tapped back in.

Soon after that exchange, Candice Duffy (Jr., Idaho Falls, Idaho) latched onto a pass from Deziel, and seeing that the Bulldogs’ keeper was some distance off her line, lobbed a shot from deep and watched the ball plop into the back of the net.

Duffy was naturally pleased with her strike.  “I’ve tried to do that all season,” she said.  “It worked this time.  I looked up and saw the keeper out and just hit it.”

Gonzales scored her first goal of the season 35 seconds later, and Deziel was again the provider.  She sent a tempting ball into the box and Gonzales did well to take the ball out of the air and sent a side footed flick past the keeper.

The ThunderWolves were rolling towards an easy victory at that point, but more goals were to come.  Hase bagged her second score of the season after a Kara Morton (So., Thornton, Colo.) free kick released Duffy down the left hand channel.  She touched the ball forward to Hase, and the converted center back stroked the ball home.

Sarah Deffit (So., Bremerton, Wash.) claimed her first goal of the season after the ThunderWolves again raided down the left hand side of the field.  This time Sheela Thompson assisted by playing Deffit through towards the goal in the 66th minute.

The women then spent the rest of the game dominating possession and killing off any hopes of even a solitary Bulldog goal.  Morris pointed to a composed performance by his defense for the team’s even keel down the stretch.

Even Chrissy Mandarich (Sr., Pueblo, Colo.) got in on the action after a while, making a cameo at the forward position after being replaced in goal by Andrea Shoop (RJr., Eugene, Ore.).  Mandarich’s foray into the final third of the field caused a bit of excitement at the end of the game, too, as the ThunderWolves flowed forward in the last minute of the game in an effort to get her a shot on goal.

After the ball fell to Mandarich on the right wing, she let loose an opportunistic shot that careened off of a defender.  The Bulldog keeper came out in an attempt to collect the ball, but it fell instead to the feet of Sheela Thompson (So., Denver, Colo.), who scampered free and fired over the defense and into the goal.  The goal was recorded with one second left on the clock.

“Everyone wanted Chrissy to score, but it came to me,” said Thompson.  “I didn’t know how much time was left and I didn’t even hear the buzzer.  It was my first goal of the season too,” she added with a smile.

Coach Morris was equally pleased with his players’ performance.  He indicated that he liked the way the team finished the game, and he also pointed to some special performances by Hase and Duffy.

“Syd was a center back in high school, but she’s got the potential to be an all-world striker,” he said.  “And Candice is a good finisher.  She’s starting to feel it,” he said.

The women picked a good time to start coming together, too.  By recording their third win in as many games, the women find themselves one game out of first place.  And with four of their next six games at home, Morris is expecting big things from the team.  He pointed to improved depth at the back of the lineup as just one of many reasons to be optimistic about the squad’s future.

The women, who take on Colorado Christian and the School of Mines next weekend in a pair of away matches, will be back at the Rawlings Complex on Oct. 10 against Metro State.