Colorado College Claims Share of C-USA Crown

October 25, 2013

Kaeli Vandersluis struck for the ‘Golden Goal’ early in the second overtime to give Colorado College a 1-0 victory over Louisiana Tech University and a share of the 2013 Conference USA regular season championship.

Vandersluis found the upper left corner with a ball launched from five yards outside the box on the right side that had everyone fooled, including senior goalkeeper Caitlin Updyke, who turned in a brilliant effort with 12 saves for the visitors.

“It was halfway between a cross and a shot,” Vandersluis said. “I just struck it and I’m glad the keeper overcommitted. We finally got a stroke of luck to win the game.

“I’ve had assists, but I haven’t had a goal like that in overtime. It feels awesome. It’s great to have a share of the championship going into the last two games of the season, but we really want the outright championship.”

For more than 100 minutes, it appeared as though the Tigers would have to wait to earn a share of their second consecutive regular-season crown. Despite a 21-6 advantage in total shots, CC was unable to crack the Lady Techster defense.

“We knew they were going to come in and get numbers behind the ball,” head coach Geoff Bennett said. “They basically played a 5-5 system and had all of their players in their own half. They were just looking to counter and not play too much against us.”

A string of frustrating moments culminated in the 89th minute after senior forward Lynn Froetscher was taken down from behind inside the box. Colorado College was awarded a penalty kick, but sophomore midfielder Sarah Schweiss drilled the left post and then was ruled offside when she knocked in the rebound.

Updyke’s last save may have been her best. With 1:30 remaining in the first overtime, she made a sliding stop on freshman forward Chanisse Hendrix who was eight yards away after taking a through ball from Schweiss. She also made a spectacular save on a rocket by Schweiss that was headed for the top right corner just 9:48 into the game.

Freshman defender Marjolein Timmermans made the defensive play of the game almost four minutes later when she blocked a shot by Vandersluis which was headed into an open net.

“It can get frustrating,” Bennett said. “I thought we generated a lot of good chances. Credit their goalkeeper. She made a lot of big-time saves and I was very impressed with her today. She kept them in the game.”

At the other end of the pitch, sophomore Kate Scheele made three saves en route to her 10th shutout of the season.

Colorado College, which extended its unbeaten streak to 11 games (10-0-1), improved to 12-3-1 overall and 7-0-1 in the conference. The Tigers need just one point or a loss by North Texas to clinch the outright championship.

“We’re proud, we’re happy, but I also think this group has bigger accomplishments in mind,” Bennett said. “They want to play into November and they want to continue to put their stamp on this program and take another step forward every year.”

CC improved to 8-0-0 at home this season and has outscored its opponents by a combined score of 20-2.

The Lady Techsters slipped to 9-8-1 overall and 4-4-0 in C-USA.

Colorado College travels to El Paso, Texas, on Sunday for its annual showdown with UTEP in the Tigers' final road game of the 2013 regular season.