DU Backline Survives Tigers Second Half Assault for 2-1 Win

August 21, 2011

BOULDER, Colo. – Much of the focus in an early season match for a coach is to accumulate wins and to find ways to put your players in a position to accomplish that objective. For the second consecutive match, the Pioneers (2-0) earned a 2-1 result, this time in regulation. On Sunday, the victory was over Colorado College (0-2), who after a 5-0 loss to Colorado on Friday, played a free flowing form of soccer nearly the entire match.

The Pioneers were able to keep a clean sheet in the first half despite the few chances that CC was able to produce early in the contest. DU weathered the early storm and opened the scoring in the 25th minute, as Kristen Hamilton (Littleton, Colo.) continued her early season success assisting the Pioneers’ opening goal.

“I’m just going out there and trying to find ways to keep helping my team win,” Hamilton said of her two goals and two assists this weekend.

Hamilton won a tackle and got the ball behind the Tigers defense, putting junior Kalie Vaughn (Fort Collins, Colo.) in a position to beat her mark and drive the ball past CC keeper Hannah Berglund.

Denver would find the back of the net a second time in the first half, this time off of a quickly taken free kick. Freshman defender Sam Harder (Centennial, Colo.) got onto the ball after the referee’s whistle and played the ball a few yards down the field to the attacking Hamilton. The sophomore forward sent a cross into the box for a Stephanie Woo (San Mateo, Calif.) volley and goal.

“The first half, we were able to put in two very nice goals with good combinations and good finishes,” DU head coach Jeff Hooker said of the Pioneers 2-0 lead at the intermission. “We didn’t start particularly well or necessarily dominate the half as far as possession goes, but we found some very critical times for some good passes and good finishes.”

Colorado College responded in the 52nd minute, converting on their fourth corner of the contest. Freshman midfielder Kaeli Vandersluis served the corner in the six yard box, and found the head of sophomore defender Katie Uyenishi to pull the Tigers within one.

CC controlled possession for the better part of the last 35 minutes of the contest. To adjust, Hooker made the decision to tactically change the Pioneers’ formation, keeping Hamilton up top as the lone striker.

“We changed formations there the last 10 minutes, and I think it helped us keep the ball,” Hooker said. “I thought we could have taken care of the ball the last three minutes and not had to have the mad scramble at the end.”

In the second half as a whole, the Tigers outshot the Pioneers by a count of 12-2, putting six of those 12 shots on goal. CC also held an 8-2 advantage in corner kicks. A young back line with many new faces was tested for DU late in the contest, but Harder along with the rest of the Pioneers back four cleared away many of those late chances.

“It was important for us to be scrappy when we needed, and that’s exactly what we had to do,” Harder said. “They obviously had more possession than we did, but I think we did a good job getting it out, even if it wasn’t pretty.”

Junior goalkeeper Maria Khan (Aurora, Colo.) made seven saves in the contest, after making nine in the first match of the Colorado Cup on Friday.

The Pioneers will have three days off between matches before hosting Big 10 foe Nebraska at CIBER Field on Thursday, Aug. 25th at 7 p.m.