Colorado College tightened its grip on first place in Conference USA's West Division and earned a little payback for being knocked out of last year's C-USA championship on penalty kicks with a 2-0 victory over the University of Tulsa on Saturday at Stewart Field.

CC, which improved to 10-3-0 overall and 5-0-0 in league play, now holds a five-point lead over the Golden Hurricane with five conference games remaining. The triumph was its eighth straight.

Junior forward Jaclyn Silsby struck for the only goal the Tigers would need in the 18th minute with a perfectly placed shot to the top right corner that eluded senior goalkeeper Haley Harryman.

"I was in the right place at the right time," Silsby said about her second career game-winning tally. "I didn't have time to think about. I saw an opening and let it go."

Sophomore midfielder Sarah Schweiss started the play along the left sideline, working the ball free and sending a pass to junior midfielder Kaeli Vandersluis, who was waiting in the middle of the box.

Vandersluis, who settled the ball and touched it to Silsby, extended her point streak to eight games with her team-leading eighth assist of the season.

Colorado College doubled its lead when Chanisse Hendrix found the top left corner just 43 seconds after entering the game. The freshman forward took a pass from senior midfielder Madison Whitehead, faked a move to the left, and then turned back to the right to create just enough space to launch the shot at 21:48. 

"Sarah Schweiss, Jessie Ayers and Kaeli (Vandersluis) get a lot of attention around the league and it was Jaclyn Silsby and Chanisse (Hendrix) who scored," head coach Geoff Bennett said. "What I love about this team is that we have others who can score. That makes us tough to defend."

Playing with a strong wind at their backs during the first half, the Tigers did not allow a shot on goal until the 42nd minute.

Sophomore Kate Scheele had to make only one other save en route to her eighth clean sheet of the season and the team's ninth.

"We didn't want to let them back in it," senior defender Katie Uyenishi said. "In the second half, we focused on keeping the ball on the floor and managing the game."

Uyenishi's attention to detail did not go unnoticed.

"Katie (Uyenishi) is probably the least mentioned player on our team and she deserves to be mentioned the most," Bennett said. "She makes a lot of plays that don't get noticed but are very important. She has been playing very well for us so far this season."

Tulsa's best scoring opportunities were on direct kicks, but both times Jordan O'Brien's shots were blocked by the Tiger defense. 

Harryman made three of her four saves in the second half, including a diving stop on Whitehead's blast from the left edge of the box with a little more than 17 minutes remaining.

"We played very well today and we needed to," Bennett said. "We have a lot of respect for Tulsa and it showed by how we came out and played.

"I thought the players did a good job handling the ball in the second half in these conditions," Bennett said. "We stressed controlling the ball. The players accepted the challenge and rose to it.

Colorado College hits the road next week for matches at Rice University on Friday, Oct., 18, and at the University of Texas San Antonio on Sunday, Oct. 20.      

    

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