The Western Colorado University soccer team scraped past University of Colorado, Colorado Springs (UCCS) after a clutch free kick from Ellie Kubena with 14 seconds remaining.
The 45-yard goal sealed the 2-1 victory for the Mountaineers in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference game at home on Sept. 29. The win over the Mountain Lions was Western's first in the series since 2015, breaking a UCCS nine-match winning streak. The Mountaineers now sit 2-4-1 for the season.
With 30 seconds left on the clock, Western's Hadley Collins drew a Mountain Lions foul. Kubena lined up for the free kick and rather than curling a pass into the box, she took a hard swipe that nestled into the right corner. UCCS goalkeeper Izzy Lalouette missed the trajectory, and the shot glanced off outstretched gloves into the goal.
Western was outshot 16-2 during first-half action, but one of those shots came off the head of Malia Ramdhanny on a corner kick from Cianna Thomas. Ramdhanny leapt high and directed a shot to the right of Lalouette for a Mountaineer lead in the 27th minute.
Mountaineer keeper Aubree Orosco made seven saves in the first half to keep UCCS off the scoreboard. But the Mountain Lions found the equalizer in the 58th. A shot from Amelia McManus deflected off a Western defender and inside the near post. UCCS reeled off 11 unanswered shots following that tying goal, four of which made it on frame where Orosco came up with the save each time.
Western's win in its 2024 RMAC opener is the first for the program since a 7-0 victory over Black Hills State University in 2017. The Mountaineers will return to action at Adams State on Oct. 4.
(Gregg Petcoff is the assistant athletics director for communications at Western Colorado University and can be reached at gpetcoff@western.edu.)
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