Chris Day
ASC Sports Information
The Adams State College women’s soccer team benefited from two own goals as they came from two goals down to record a 2-2 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference tie, Sunday afternoon here at Colorado Christian University.
The tie was the first of the season for the Grizzlies who snapped a 4-game losing streak while moving to 3-8-1 overall and to 2-5-1 in RMAC play. The Cougars also snapped a 4-game slide and moved to 1-11-1 overall and to 1-7-1 in the loop.
The Cougars struck first as freshman midfielder Courtney Garcia tallied her first career goal after a Sally Larsen assist in the 26th minute.
The Cougars then went up 2-0 just 3:23 later when freshman Leah Balcar scored from just outside the penalty box after a Grizzly turnover.
However, the momentum would be short-lived as the Grizzlies got on the board thanks to the Cougars’ first own goal that came just six seconds before the half-hour.
The score line would continue to read 2-1 through the rest of the half and for more than five minutes of the second half before a Jenna Iwaniec shot went off the post. The rebound then caromed off a Cougar defender and into the goal tying the score at 2 with 39:14 left in regulation.
The Cougars then outshot the Grizzlies 7-5 through the rest of regulation.
Playing their second overtime game in less than 48 hours after falling 2-1 on Friday night at Colorado State-Pueblo, the Grizzlies took the first two shots of extra time but could not find the net as Alyssa Smith had a shot saved by Laura Signorelie before freshman Alex Sanderson saw her 94th-minute shot go off the post.
The Cougars then managed their only shot of the first overtime with just 20 seconds remaining on the clock. However, Grizzly freshman Hannah Kohlts, who had eight saves, made the stop.
Kohlts also had two stops in the second overtime as did Signorelie, who faced intense pressure in the closing minutes of the second 10-minute overtime.
Both teams took 20 shots in the evenly played match.
The Grizzlies, who claimed a 2-1 home win over the Cougars on Sept. 19, are now 10-4-3 all-time against them.
With seven points, the Grizzlies are just two points out of the sixth and final RMAC Tournament qualifying spot with seven matches to go. They will play New Mexico Highlands (6-4-2, 4-2-1 RMAC), currently tied for fourth in the RMAC standings with 13 points on Wednesday afternoon in Las Vegas, N.M.
The Grizzlies defeated the Cowgirls by a 1-0 score at home on Sept. 22 but have struggled against them on the road having dropped six straight matches since claiming their lone road win in the series in 2003.
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