DENVER – The Regis University women's soccer team played formidably well against Colorado School of Mines considering the fact it had a day less to rest but ultimately lost, 1-0, on a late score at Regis Match Pitch on Saturday.
 
"I was obviously very pleased with our first-half performance," said coach J.B. Belzer. "To hold a School of Mines side without a shot, you have to go back in the record books a long time to find that, and we created a couple chances, and we couldn't convert, unfortunately. So, I thought our first-half performance was excellent.
 
"They threw a great wrinkle at us that really caused us some issue in the second half. It took us a while to sort it out, and I thought we had sorted it. And unfortunately, we had a lapse of tactical awareness and technical execution in defending principles, and they punished us for it, and that was the game."
 
How It Happened: Redshirt junior midfielder Kaylee Kennedy passed the ball downfield to freshman forward/midfielder Emi Higgins who fired a cross shot from the right of the box and into the bottom-left corner of the net for the Orediggers' 1-0 lead with just 1:14 left in regulation.
 
Both teams were involved in a defensive battle as neither squad allowed a shot for nearly 30 minutes. In fact, junior forward Carly Bych had the first shot of the game at the 28:48 mark. Bych's shot was drilled to the bottom-right corner of the net, but senior goalkeeper Shannon Mooney was there for the save.
 
Additionally, the Rangers didn't allow a single shot in the opening 45 minutes of play.
 
Prior to the tie-breaking goal, Colorado School of Mines senior forward/midfielder Nicole LaTourette belted a shot from just outside the box, but junior goalkeeper Julia Coombs was right in the shot's path for one of her four saves on the day.
 
Regis was edged in both shots and shots-on-goal to CSM, which won those counts by tallies of 11-10 and 5-4, respectively.
 
Game Notes: Bych (1 S, 1 SOG), freshman midfielder Madison Hand (1 S, 1 SOG), junior midfielder Keegan Storlie (1 S, 1 SOG) and freshman defender Ella Palmer (1 S, 1 SOG) all had their sole shots on-goal during the game. Senior midfielder Emily Ramos (3 S) had the team-high and a share of the game-high in shots. Coombs (4 SV) added four saves to her season tally.
 
Up Next for the Rangers: RU drops to a 9-4-2 overall record and a 7-3-1 record in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) play. The Rangers kick off their final road trip of the 2019 season at Metropolitan State University of Denver (6-8-2, 5-4-2 RMAC) at The Regency Athletic Complex on Friday at 3:30 p.m.
 
With just two games left prior to the RMAC Tournament, Belzer sees every match as crucial.
 
"They'll pose a different challenge," Belzer said about MSU Denver. "We'll play a little bit differently than Mines, and so, we'll have a gameplan ready to try to expose their weaknesses and capitalize on the strengths we have. We're always excited to get back and play more. We've got six days to prepare, and then we'll go again Friday and it's a must-win situation."