DENVER – The Regis University men's soccer team trailed or tied UC-Colorado Springs for 98 minutes during the teams' Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference opener on Friday but took the lead when it mattered most and came away with an exciting 4-3 overtime win at Regis Match Pitch on Friday.
 
"It's really exciting to be able to win our first conference game at home this season," said coach Tony McCall. "I think that sets us up. We've been on the other side of that last week against Metro[politan State University of Denver] when we were beaten in overtime by them.
 
"But I just knew that these kids are fearless, and they never give up. Sometimes, we make mistakes, but they bounce back. I think we were down 1-0, 2-1, 3-2, came back each time, and then in overtime, we were able to snatch it. I'm really proud of these kids. I think that we have good quality. Now we just have to take care of the little things, and I think the rest will take care of itself."  
 
How It Happened: Deadlocked at 3-3 in the 99th minute, sophomore midfielder Ben Shepherd's corner kick fell in front of the goal box. It was at this moment junior midfielder Nico Denton streaked in and headed the ball, beating senior goalkeeper Scott Jensen, into the back of the net for the 4-3 win. 
 
Facing a 1-0 deficit late in the 28th minute, sophomore midfielder Michael Jimenez passed to sophomore forward Ethan Willson, who beat Jensen in the middle of the net to knot the score at 1-1.
 
After going into the half down, 2-1, freshman forward Anthony Priest passed from the outside to junior forward Jean Carre. On a one-touch pass, Carre connected with junior forward Parker Klein, who scored on an empty net and evened the score, 2-2, with just seconds left in the 56th minute.
 
However, it was sophomore defender Nick Mootz's 3-3 equalizing header that sent the match into overtime. A free-kick pass from Shepherd to the middle of the box made contact with Mootz's head and traveled into the upper-right corner to erase a 3-2 deficit in the 86th minute of regulation.
 
Despite trailing for most of the game, the Rangers outshot the Mountain Lions, 21-13, including a 12-9 margin in shots-on-goal.
 
Game Notes: Denton (1 G, 1 S, 1 SOG) and Mootz (1 G, 1 S, 1 SOG) both made the most of their lone shot attempts for Regis. Willson (1 G, 3 S, 2 SOG) and Klein (1 G, 3 S, 2 SOG) each had game-tying goals. Shepherd (2 A, 3 S, 1 SOG) led all players in assists for the game. Jimenez (1 A), Priest (1 A) and Carre (1 A) were all credited with an assist.
 
Up Next for the Rangers: RU climbs to a 2-2-1 overall record and a 1-0-0 record in league play. The Rangers will next travel to South Dakota Mines (1-2-0), where Regis will kick off at Sioux Park Stadium on Sunday at 11 a.m.
 
Following the win over UCCS, McCall believes that now isn't the time to alter his team's gameplan.
 
"I don't think that we can change our approach," McCall said. "We have to keep doing what we've been doing. The boys are very astute at what needs to be done, and I think we'll go into South Dakota [Mines], show them the same respect that we did UCCS today, and hopefully, we can get the job done."