No. 5 Metro crushes Northeastern State
by Sam DeWitt
The Metropolitan
The Midwest Region of NCAA Division II women's soccer is officially on notice, and the message is clear: the No. 5 Metro Roadrunners are a force to be reckoned with.
Photo by Bradley Wakoff The Metropolitan
Northeastern State goalkeeper Chelsey Hill boxes the ball away on a cornerkick. The Lady Reds played Metro at Auraria Field Friday, Oct. 1. The
No. 5 Roadrunners defeated the visiting team 12-1. Hill had a busy day as she was forced to make 11 saves. The 'Runners fired off 23 shots on goal.
With a 12-1 shelling of the Northeastern State Lady Reds (6-5, 1-1 Lone Star Conference) last Friday at a frigid Auraria Field, Metro (10-1, 7-0 RMAC) is showing its mettle and roughing up some quality teams with its speed, strength and accuracy on net.
It's almost as if they have pre-positioned targets in the goal-they are outscoring opponents this season by a total of 59-7.
This also includes their lone loss of the season, a shutout defeat to Cal-State Bakersfield, that looks more and more like a fluke with each pasting of another opponent.
Rolling over teams the way they are "feels good," said senior midfielder Adrienne Almaraz. "It's building our confidence with each victory, and every time we go out we feel we can win."
It certainly showed on Friday. In a cold drizzle that could fray the nerves and toes of a lesser team, the Roadrunners came out hot, scorching the Lady Reds for 35 shots to Northeastern State's 1 and attacking at every opportunity.
Sophomore forward Kylee Hanavan earned a hat trick and junior midfielder Amy Leichliter scored a hat trick and added three assists, and two 'Runners (Brooke Kiefer and Dominique Van Lieu) scored their first goals of the year.
"Our finishing has been exceptional," said Roadrunners head coach Danny Sanchez. "It's something we've been working on and we've been doing a good job with it."
There are challenges that lie ahead, however. Metro travels next to Oklahoma to play what coach Sanchez calls "two huge region games" against Central Oklahoma and Texas A&M Commerce.
"These are games that could possibly decide NCAA tournament bids and hosting, so it's vital that we get two results on the trip," he said. |
