Scott Kretzmann
ASC Sports Information Director
GOLDEN, Colo. – The Grizzlies trailed by two after a quick strike by the Orediggers out of halftime on Sunday afternoon, but a pair of goals within the final 10 minutes of regulation from senior Jessica Hellweg (Island Lake, Ill.) led the Grizzlies a 2-2 tie with the 19th-ranked Orediggers at CSM Soccer Stadium.
Sunday’s match was the first in which the Grizzlies have beaten or tied a team ranked among the top 25 nationally since Oct. 15, 2006, when ASC scored a 1-0 win over an 8th-ranked Regis squad.
The tie moves Adams State to 6-8-2 overall and 3-7-2 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) while the Orediggers drop to the 12-2-2 overall and 8-2-2 in league play. The tie dropped CSM to third in the RMAC standings.
Colorado Mines out shot the Grizzlies 19-6, and allowed just a single shot from ASC in the first half. A Megan Woodworth goal in the 15th minute of action made the score 1-0 at the break, and Woodworth’s second of the game came less than three minutes after play resumed in the second half.
Adams State still struggled to get their shots off in the second half, but was accurate when it did as the Grizzlies put all five of their attempts on target.
Hellweg managed to get the Grizzlies on the board in the 81st minute, dribbling into the box before hitting the low corner and bringing the ASC deficit to one goal. It took less than five more minutes before the score was tied, thanks a pass from senior Erika Bendele (Lakwood, Colo.) into the box that was finished by Hellweg.
For Hellweg, the Grizzlies career leading in goals and points, the game-tying goal was her ninth of the season, and the assist was Bendele’s second in her career. It was also Hellweg’s third multiple goal game of the season.
Freshman keeper Christie Stemple (Glendale, Ariz.) made eight saves in the match, including one in each of the scoreless overtime periods.
With just two matches remaining this season, the Grizzlies be home and away for the final weekend of play. On Friday, Adams State will play its final game at ASC Soccer Field of the season, hosting Regis at 1 p.m., and then end the season on the road against the University of Nebraska-Kearney at Noon Sunday.
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