Soccer

Cougars post their ‘best win of the season’

Freshman defender Gabrielle Rodriguez  cheers on her fellow Cougars as a tense moment in the game presents itself.  | File photo/The Daily Cougar

Freshman defender Gabrielle Rodriguez cheers on her fellow Cougars as a tense moment in the game presents itself. | File photo/The Daily Cougar

Three was the magical number this weekend both for and against the Cougars. In the game on Friday against Colorado College, the Cougars came out with a 3-1 loss. Sunday told a different tale with a 3-0 win against UTEP.

“We came out a little more focused on ourselves and not so much about what the game means,” assistant coach Suzie Grech said. “Friday night, we got a little too amped up and came out hesitant and shaky. Sunday, we played within ourselves, calm and with good touches. Consistency and coming out compact really helps us.”
Junior Jasmine Martinez opened up the scoreboard with eight minutes left in the first half after she curved the ball around the keeper. In a similar situation two minutes later, senior forward Katelyn Rhodes put another past the Miners.
“It was probably our best game out of the season as a team and as a whole,” Martinez said. “Everybody stepped up, did the extra little thing that coach asked us to do and we all worked for each other. If I messed up, I knew someone had my back and they would fix the problem and if they messed up, I had them. On Friday, it wasn’t like that.”
Five minutes into the second half, Martinez held possession of the ball. She evaded a defender until it was her and the keeper. With a kick to the right Martinez’s ball connected with the net, putting the Cougars up 3-1.
“This was by far the best win of the season,” head coach Chris Pfau said in a press release. “We had some players that could barely walk or have been sick all week. Friday was a bad loss, but we came out, showed our character and got the win.”
The ball was kept in Miners possession for the majority of last 20 minutes of futile attempts to break through the Cougar defense.
“The biggest thing is how we come out,” Grech said. “We dictated what happened, as opposed to playing at 100 miles an hour.”
Junior goalkeeper Cami Koski posted her fourth shutout of the season helping the Cougars bring their record to 7-7-3 (3-3-3 Conference USA). It was the 15th shutout of her career.
“She’s come out big for us this season and came out big for us again today,” Grech said. “It’s well deserved.”
Friday will be the final home game for the Cougars as they play against Rice, the standings leader.
“I’m willing to take on anybody,” Grech said. “I think it’s a great in-city rivalry, conference rivalry, everything about that game is a build-up. I’m sure nerves are going to play a part on both sides.”

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