DENVER – Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) play kicked-off with a bang on Wednesday afternoon as the Regis University men's soccer team (5-2-1, 1-0 RMAC) beat their cross-town rivals, the Metropolitan State University of Denver Roadrunners (3-5-1, 0-1 RMAC) 2-1 after a lengthy lightning delay prior to the start of the game.
 
How It Happened: Lightning in the area forced the two teams off the field for warm-ups and delayed the start of the match for 40 minutes. Upon the conclusion of the delay, the teams took the field and immediately went to work. In fact, the Roadrunners only needed 25 seconds to score the games' first goal. As a Regis defender attempted to clear the ball, MSU Denver blocked the clearance and took possession inside the 18-yard box, and the Roadrunner had an easy trip to the net for the first goal of the match.
 
The Rangers, stunned after what just occurred, took immediate action, and stepped up their play. The team put together some dangerous offensive breaks and the defense stepped up to the challenge. Around the three-minute mark RU put together a string of three shots that were all saved by the MSU Denver goalie. That gave Regis the confidence they needed to get back in the game. Late in the first half, as the Rangers were on the attack, graduate student Danilo Pekovic pushed his pass through the backline of the defense to fellow graduate student Jean Carre, who fought his way past a couple diving and challenging Roadrunners and was able to finish his shot in the bottom left corner of the net, tying the match at one goal apiece. That is how the score would remain heading into halftime.
 
The second half of play was filled with more intense action as each team fought for a chance to take the lead. 55 seconds into the second half, MSU Denver was awarded a penalty kick on an interesting call inside the 18-yard box. What seemed like a normal defensive challenge was deemed unnecessary and set MSU Denver up with a penalty kick opportunity. Graduate student Tim Dolan came to the rescue as he made the miraculous diving save and followed up with another big save on the rebound effort, keeping the game tied at one. This ignited a fire amongst the Rangers who took that momentum and turned it into a goal in the 72^nd minute. Again, Pekovic and Carre were pressuring the Roadrunners deep in the defensive zone which forced a turnover. Pekovic made a backheel pass to Carre who then tapped the ball past two defenders to senior Kristian Hooker who laced a powerful shot that dipped at the last second to beat the keeper and find the back of the net, giving RU a 2-1 lead with only 18 minutes remaining.
 
Following the goal, Regis posted up defensively, changing to a more defensive formation in order to seal the victory. The team fought off a few attacks from their opponents, and despite receiving two yellow cards in the final two minutes of the game, the Rangers earned the 2-1 victory in the conference opener.
 
Game Notes: The shot tallies were nearly even for the entirety of the match as both teams had nine shots in the opening 45 minutes, and then RU managed to edge out MSU Denver 11-8 in the second half with a 6-5 advantage in shots on goal. Both goalkeepers made four saves in the match, none bigger than the save that Dolan made on the penalty kick opportunity to start the second half. The corner kick advantage tilted in favor of the visitors, 5-4, and three players from Regis were issues yellow cards, while only one Roadrunner received a booking.
 
Up Next for the Rangers: The Regis University men's soccer team will now hit the road for their next match which will be a 6 p.m. matchup with the South Dakota Mines Hardrockers in Rapid City, South Dakota on Friday, October 1.