Women’s soccer won a back-and-forth match against Colorado State 3-2 on Sunday, Oct. 22 for their final away conference match of the regular season.
The Aztecs (13-3-2, 8-1-1 Mountain West Conference) visited the Colorado State Rams (10-5-3, 5-3-2) for a match with two ties and three lead changes, with the final lead change being the 86th minute match-winning goal by midfielder Denise Castro.
In the 37th minute, Castro cut in the box where she was tripped up, resulting in a penalty being awarded. This opened up the scoring for the Aztecs as defender Kiera Utush scored from the spot, placing it in the bottom left of the net, putting her personal goal tally up to four and giving the Aztecs a 1-0 lead.
As the first half was coming to a close, the Rams equalized off a corner that was headed into the goal by Liv Stutzman to end the half at 1-1.
It didn’t take long for the Aztecs to reclaim the lead in the second half, as in the 64th minute a passage of play between Castro and midfielder Alexys Ocampo led to a cross in the goal area. Midfielder Olivia Sekimoto cracked it home with her right-foot to give the Aztecs a 2-1 lead, it was her third goal of the season in the Mountain West.
Less than a minute later, the Rams would find another goal from a quick attack by Stutzman and a shot that would even the match back up at 2-2.
The last 25 minutes were filled with both teams trading shots and corners which led to counterattacks and dangerous opportunities. Aztec goalkeeper Alexa Madueno made multiple goal-saving plays, as she finished the match with six saves.
The Aztecs pressure finally paid off in the 86th minute when the ball landed in the box for Castro, as she put it past the Rams keeper in the bottom left of the goal to give the Aztecs a 3-2 lead.
The Aztecs look to claim the regular season Mountain West title as they return to the Sports Deck on Thursday, Oct. 26 at 7 p.m. for their final regular season match against the New Mexico Lobos.
