DENVER – The Regis University men's soccer team (7-3-1, 3-1 RMAC) got back on the winning track with a 3-0 win over the No. 24 ranked Colorado State University Pueblo ThunderWolves (9-3, 2-2 RMAC) on Sunday afternoon.
How It Happened: The first half played out to a scoreless 45 minutes despite 14 total shots, 10 from CSUP and four from the Rangers in the half. The goalkeepers on both sides came up big in some critical moments. Senior goalkeeper
Cooper Erickson made three saves in the first half, which gave the team confidence heading into the second half.
Out of the break, there was more of the same gritty action from the first half that played out. In the 66
th minute, RU was awarded a free kick in the center of the field around 25 yards out from goal. Junior
Lucas Durval stepped up and drilled his shot which found the back of the net for the first goal of the match. It was an amazing left foot strike that curled around the wall and beat the keeper on the right side of the goal.
A few moments later, in the 74
th minute, another foul was called on the ThunderWolves as junior
Vilhjalmur Kaldal was making a move towards the goal. After a yellow card was issued to CSUP's defender, Regis lined up for another free kick opportunity. This time, graduate student
Parker Klein took the set piece. He struck a low driven ball that rose into the top right corner of the goal, extending the Rangers' lead to two.
Less than eight minutes later in the 81
st minute, Kaldal sealed the victory for RU with his sixth goal of the season. On the play, Erickson's goal kick sailed into the offensive zone where it found the head of senior
Kristian Hooker who played the ball to Kaldal into space towards the net. Kaldal gathered the ball and slotted it past the keeper for the third Regis goal of the match, putting the game out of reach with only nine minutes left on the clock. The Rangers closed it out and earned the clean sheet along the way.
Game Notes: Though RU was outshot 20-11 on the day, Regis put more of their shots on target (6-5) as they took advantage of their opportunities when they were presented. Erickson finished the match with five saves while picking up the shutout. Durval scored his third goal of the season and Klein tallied his second. Hooker picked up his second assist of the season while Erickson picked up an assist from the goalkeeper position for the first time in his RU career.
Up Next for the Rangers: The next time that the Regis University men's soccer team will take to the pitch will be Friday, October 15 at 3 p.m. down the road as they travel to Colorado Christian University to face the Cougars in Lakewood. Then, on Sunday, October 17, the team will match up with the Orediggers of Colorado School of Mines in Golden at noon.
