DENVER, Colo. – With playoff hopes on the line, the Regis University men's soccer team upset the #6 Colorado State University Pueblo ThunderWolves, 2-1, on Thursday thanks to skillful goals from junior forward Rayhan Carlson-Du Toit and graduate student forward Vilhjalmur Kaldal.
The statement win comes as Regis' (6-9-2 overall, 4-4-1 RMAC) first win over a top-10 opponent since 2014, when the Rangers defeated #7 Northeastern State, also 2-1. Thursday's win over the ThunderWolves (11-4-2 overall, 5-3-1 RMAC) marks Regis' third win in a row.
"We feel really, really great," said Regis men's head soccer coach, Taylor Diem. "Obviously, a massive result for us, not only to beat a ranked team but with the place we're in right now, we know that we have to win out to give ourselves a chance at the conference tournament. It's an absolutely massive win, a massive win at a crucial time."
How It Happened: An industrious defense coupled with brilliant offensive plays helped the Rangers to their win over a ThunderWolves' team that played in the 2022 NCAA DII National Championship match last December.
Both Carlson-Du Toit and Kaldal have found themselves with more scoring opportunities as of late, and both have not hesitated to take advantage.
A crucial free kick in front of the Rangers' bench set Kaldal up at the corner of the 18-yard box when he arced his pass over a couple of ThunderWolves defenders to Carlson-Du Toit at the top of the six-yard box.
The New-Zealand native jumped at just the right time and headed the ball over CSU Pueblo's goalkeeper and into the back of the net for Regis' first score.
With five minutes remaining in the match, and the score tied at 1-1, a timely turnover caused by junior forward Brendan O'Toole at midfield put the ball at graduate student forward Ben Shepherd's feet who then placed a perfect pass to the top of the 18-yard box.
Kaldal sprinted through the open field to meet Shepherd's pass and dribbled around a ThunderWolves defender to chip the ball over a diving CSU Pueblo goalkeeper for Regis' second goal of the night.
"Both Villy and Ray are playing really, really well right now," said Diem. "Ray, to be on the end of Villy's ball early on in the beginning of the second half great and Villy's composure to go off and finish the second chance was massive. Both of those guys have found themselves on the scoresheet a little more often over these last three weeks so I'm really, really happy that they could make it work for us tonight."
CSU Pueblo's only goal of the night came from an unfortunate own goal in the 35th minute from a Regis defenseman who was trying to block a shot from CSU Pueblo's #13, Ignatius DeMark.
The ThunderWolves did not let up, however, and put the Rangers' defense under pressure with 29 total shots on the night. Regis' defense was up to the task as they only allowed seven shots on goal, with junior goalkeeper Greg Squire stepping up and saving every one of them.
"Just incredible resilience from the defense. With a long throw like Pueblo has, it's always going to create more opportunities. Any ball that goes over the sidelines essentially becomes a set piece," said Diem. "In that sense, I'm really proud of how they managed it. There were some tight ones there where the ball could've potentially crossed over the line, but the back four and Greg played well tonight to keep it to one."
After Kaldal's goal, the Rangers put together a team effort to keep CSU Pueblo off the scoresheet. Within the final five minutes, the ThunderWolves took six shots, four of which were blocked, one completely missed, and Squire saved another to seal Regis' win.
"They're a team that plays with a lot of intensity and a lot of energy so the message to the guys going into the game was we have to find a way to match that energy and really impose ourselves on them early on and not let them score," said Diem. "We came out well, we put them under pressure, created a few chances, and ultimately kept the game tight when it was important."
Game Notes:
Up Next: The Rangers play their regular-season finale on Sunday against UCCS. Kickoff is set for 2 PM and Regis will be hosting Senior Day prior to the match.
"It's a massive game for us, it's another must win game to hopefully keep on playing games. They're a quality opponent, and not a lot of time to recover so we'll take Saturday to prepare and get ready and we'll hopefully send our seniors off with one last win at home," said Diem.
