A Minute to Remember

Calendar

Show:/

Sep 17

7:00 p.m.

Women's Soccer

vs Wyoming

Sep 20

3:00 p.m.

Women's Soccer

at Colorado College

Sep 25

7:00 p.m.

Women's Soccer

at Weber State

Oct 1

8:00 p.m.

Women's Soccer

at Fresno State

Oct 4

12:00 p.m.

Women's Soccer

vs Utah State

Team	1	2	Final F
Kansas St.	0	2	2
Colorado St.	1	1	2

Kansas St.

Colorado St.

A lot can happen in one minute.

The Earth can travel 1,000 kilometers, lightning can strike the planet 360 times, and three goals in soccer can be scored.

From minute 86:30 to 87:30, the Rams saw defeat, anger, determination, and joy. All coming from three goals as the Rams tied 2-all against Kansas State Thursday at Rams Field in their fourth matchup.

"We should have killed the game 86 minutes in the corner; we didn't," coach Keeley Hagen said. "That's obviously a lesson that we're going to take with us into the conference."

What didn't die was Colorado State's determination. The two rapid-succession goals felt devastating.

With the game slipping away, the Rams found more time to fight.

"I'm really proud of the team's fight at the end to tie it off," Hagen said. "That was a world-class goal by Mia Casey."

As can be common in soccer, you move the ball back to be able to open up lanes and opportunities moving forward. The Rams know this well, to move forward you have to move back.

Coming off of a four-game losing streak, they looked to take this backward momentum and push it forward against the Wildcats. Both teams started strong, not letting the hot Fort Collins sun distract them from the goal.

As the heat picked up, so did the intensity of the players and fans, with nine fouls being called in the first half. After 33 minutes of play, the Rams finally produced what they had been practicing.

The Rams used each other like they knew best, knowing not one person was going to win the game for them.

"Honestly, I think it just boosted our confidence and shows we can all score and just work together as a team," Sydney Torres said.

A corner kick sent by Casey soared right to the head of Ava Wallhead, who knocked it down, leaving the Rams and Wildcats to fight until a victor came out on top.

"We were practicing headers, and I'm like, 'OK, I just got to get it on the goal," Wallhead said.

Not quite on the goal, but right into the feet of another Ram.

Torres, a transfer from Ole Miss, mailed a postage stamp all the way back to her hometown, letting them know she scored her first goal as a Ram.

"Ava did a great job of just whipping the ball back to the goal and I just had an easy tap in," Torres said. "A lot of props to Casey for taking the corner and Ava for pushing the ball back in and I just tapped it in. I'm very excited and many more to come."

Hitting the top corner, soaring over the Kansas State goalie, the Rams had put one on the board.

Wallhead's header was no fluke. Hagen said the freshman had been learning what to do to put herself in position for these plays.

"It's putting yourself in the right place at the right time and she's doing that," Hagen said. "She's physical and she's a sponge right now and drinking from a fire hydrant. She's learning a lot."

"I tell every single one of my players, control the controllables, you've got to work your tail off and good things happen when you do. We're seeing that from her right now."

As the band played the fight song and the fans looked at the last 10 minutes of play eager to see the Rams defeat Kansas State, the Wildcats tore through the Colorado State defense and shattered dreams of winning.

With only 14 minutes left of play, Kansas State's Emerson DeLuca nailed one from the outside, scoring top left corner, giving freshman goalkeeper Addison Huber no chance.

To add insult to injury, the Wildcats gave CSU no room for recovery.

Using the Ram's disorder to their advantage, they snuck back into the CSU half, firing another goal to take the lead. Only 30 seconds after their first goal, Gabby DeMers showed just how quickly a game could change.

And just like a snap of a finger, the Rams went from the lead to trailing.

"It was hard to watch because we've all been wanting it. Obviously, it's frustrating, but it's giving us fuel for this next time," Wallhead said. "They're a big team and we know we compete with them, so we just keep using it as fuel for our next moment."

For the Rams, the next moment was a lot closer than they thought.

Just as quickly as Kansas State scored, the Rams easily recovered.

Fueled by rage and drive, the Rams took the field, ready to prove how they could perform.

Junior Kaja Dionne flew down the field, eyes locked with Casey. A kick from Dionne sent the ball soaring across the net, to connect with the head of Casey, ultimately tying the game, just 30 seconds after the Wildcats had celebrated.

"It was just a lot of fuel, of rage, frustration. Honestly, Mia Casey, shout out to her, she was like, 'guys, we got to score this for us and for all these people that have put into us,'" Wallhead said. "So we've got to do it."

Casey's first goal of the season came when the team needed it most. Although the Rams didn't scrape their way to a win, they proved they weren't going to let a two-goal swing in 30 seconds stop them.

The comeback wasn't the ending they had hoped for, but when the Rams walk onto the pitch, it's going to be a good battle.

"We're going to fight for each other, fight for a win and we're just going to get back on the winning rhythm," Torres said.

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Recent Results

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Mia Casey

Kaja Dionne

Addison Huber

Sydney Torres

Ava Wallhead

Team Stats

Torres Sydney

Casey Mia

Boulom Avery

Alonso Skylar

Players Mentioned

Mia Casey

Kaja Dionne

Addison Huber

Sydney Torres

Ava Wallhead

Upcoming Events

Recent Results

Colorado State University Athletics