DENVER, Colo. — Navigating a chilly morning and the emotions surrounding Senior Day, the Regis University women's soccer team clinched the right to at least one home playoff game Sunday with a 1-0 victory over Fort Lewis College.
With the win, Regis (10-4-2 overall, 9-0-1 RMAC) continued its unbeaten run inside the RMAC and guaranteed itself no worse than a third-place finish in the conference standings — Regis currently holds a 00 point lead over Colorado School of Mines for first place — with just one weekend remaining in the regular season.
"Senior Day can be a really hard to stay focused, from when they get here at 8 a.m. in the morning through the entire game. That's a long time to remain focused, but I could tell in warm-up we were dialed in and aware of what is at stake," said Regis head women's soccer coach, Jeff Frykholm. "It's a hard day to play, and against a tough opponent, so I was very proud of our effort and composure."
HOW IT HAPPENED: Fittingly, it would be a senior who came through for the Rangers on Sunday. After the two RMAC foes battled each other to a scoreless draw through the game's first 69 minutes and change, midfielder Ella Palmer was able to settle a crossing pass from freshman Natalie Bunch and bury what proved to be the game-winner at the 69:55 mark.
It was the first goal of 2022 for Palmer and five of her career.
"I'm so happy for Ella. She has been really close to scoring a couple times this year, so for her to be able to do it with her family here for Senior Day was great," Frykholm said. "That was a lovely goal and for her to finish that with such composure was a great reward for her. And that goal guaranteed us at least one more chance to play here on this field."
Palmer's goal was one of 25 shots the Regis attack generated on Sunday — the second highest single-game total this season — as they peppered the Fort Lewis goalkeeper Riley Bravin with 11 shots on goal before breaking through.
"A lot of our shots came from distance because Fort Lewis was so organized on its back line, so we talked a lot at halftime about our shot selection and improving our quality of shots," Frykholm said. "And I think we did that in the second half and we couldn't have asked for a better response than the goal that we got."
The Rangers' defense was equal to their task, as well, on Sunday as they limited Fort Lewis to 12 shots, just six shots on goal, and posted their fourth straight shutout. Regis currently ranks third in the RMAC with a 0.75 goals against average for the season and leads all conference foes with the lowest goals against (0.30) through 10 RMAC games.
A clean sheet was the cherry on top for the Rangers as five of the seven Regis players honored pre-game for Senior Day — goalkeeper Katelyn Martin, defensive midfielder Madison Hand, and defensemen Casey Lavin, Allison Warta and Palmer — contributed to the defensive dominance.
"We've really started to build our identity around our defense this season. We want to be tough to beat. And to be tough to beat, you need to be tough to score on," Frykholm said. "Again, we had some different looking lineups today that we haven't played before, but the players' willingness to defend and sacrifice on the back line, has been remarkable. Katelyn made some key saves like she always does, but we did a great job of preventing dangerous moments."
UP NEXT: The Rangers wrap up the 2022 regular season with a pair of crucial road games against the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs (7 p.m. Thursday) before another big trip the ensuing Wednesday against Colorado School of Mines (6 p.m.).
UCCS is currently third in the RMAC standings with 20 points, while the Orediggers sit second at 26 points battling it out with the Rangers for the 2022 regular season title.
"We have two really good opponents to end the regular season and they are really different in their styles. I think there is a lot of excitement that we're here now fighting for the top spot in the conference," Frykholm said. "The conference champion will be one of these three teams and we get a chance to play them both, which is what you want as a competitor. You want to have meaningful games at the end of the year."
NOTES: The Regis Department of Athletics and women's soccer team honored seven graduate students and seniors expected to graduate during the 2022-23 school year.
The seven student-athletes honored were:
Katelyn Martin,
Maren Clark,
Madison Hand,
Audrey Teague,
Ella Palmer,
Allison Warta and
Casey Lavin.
"This group has been a model of resiliency and courage, going through three coaching changes and the Covid-19 Pandemic, and are still here intact as a group," Frykholm said. "They show up for us every single day leading our culture. They're a remarkable group and I think their leadership is a big part of why we are where we are now. The depth wealth of experience, leadership and challenges they have been through is now bearing fruit for us on the pitch. And I couldn't be happier for them to have this run, regardless of what happens the next couple of weeks."
