UCCS vs UTT
On Sept. 12, the Mountain Lions faced University of Texas at Tyler for their home opener. Dominating in the first half with 12 shots, freshman defender #2 Dillon Clarke and junior forward #17 Nick Walker had 3 shots to the Patriot’s 4.
An early goal kickstarted the momentum for UCCS with #7 Dani Barajas and an assist from #21 Miles Seminario in the 10,’ sending the ball right past the Patriot’s keeper for the first goal of the match. Junior keeper Soren Russell had his only save of the first half with a shot on goal by UTT’s Jose Ramos in the 36’. Both teams struggled to find the back of the net for the rest of the half.
The one-goal lead lasted deep into the second half until UTT committed a foul in the 84’ that resulted in a penalty kick from #9 Cole Venable, putting the Mountain Lions up by two.
UTT responded with a goal five minutes later with a free kick by the Patriots that created a tight window in the top left corner of the net going right past the UCCS keeper. UTT could not tie the match, ending with a score of 2-1 in favor of the Mountain Lions.
UCCS vs DBU
On Sept. 14, the Mountain Lions went head-to-head against Dallas Baptist University. UCCS started aggressively on the pitch. In the 24,’ Venable was tripled in the penalty box, resulting in the Mountain Lions being rewarded with a penalty kick. Barajas took the penalty kick, shooting right into the middle of the net.
Barajas followed up minutes later, scoring his second goal of the match in the 33,’ assisted by Soulo Letsoalo. Barajas is now tied for the lead in goals for this season.
Action continued in the second half as the Mountain Lions added seven more shots with three on-goal. Graduate student #4 Adin Schwenke scored another goal for UCCS at the 70,’ making it his first of the season.
Schwenke headed the ball to the top left corner of the net to put the Mountain Lions up by three. The header was assisted by junior midfielder #15 Eric Estrada. The Mountain Lions held on to the three-goal lead until the 75’ when the Patriots scored their one goal of the game into the bottom left corner.
The Mountain Lions retained their 4-1 lead against Dallas Baptist University for the rest of the game. The team is now undefeated in their first four games of the season with three wins and one draw.
Up next, the Mountain Lions head on the road to Oklahoma to play on Sept. 19 against Rogers State and on Sept. 21 to play Oklahoma Christian. They will be back at Mountain Lion Stadium on Sept. 26 against Colorado Mesa at 7 p.m. for Homecoming Weekend.