Back-to-back RMAC champs
Women beat Regis 4-1 en route to third conference title in four years
By Jeremy Johnson
jjohn308@mscd.edu
For the third time since Metro head coach Danny Sanchez took over four years ago, the No. 1-seeded women's soccer team captured the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference tournament championship by defeating No. 3-ranked Regis, 4-1.
Photos by William Moore moorwill@mscd.edu
The defending national champion women's soccer team poses for a portrait after winning against Regis on Nov. 4 at Auraria Field. Metro will host the first and second rounds of the NCAA Women's Soccer Tournament, Nov. 11 and 13.
Junior forward Kylee Hanavan, who scored her fifth hat trick of the season, was voted the tournament's Most Valuable Player.
The tournament's final game took place Saturday at Auraria field amid a chilly western wind that threatened bad weather, but the sun shined bright and there was not a cloud in the sky for the Roadrunners en route to their tournament win.
"We had a good practice this week and I could just tell before we even came out today that we were going to play well," senior defensive back Stephanie Prouty said.
Hanavan set the tone for the 'Runners halfway through the first half when she took a Regis turnover in the 28th minute and drilled it into the left side of the net for an unassisted goal. Five minutes later, Hanavan scored off Anne Ormrod's pass up the field, driving a hard shot right at Regis goalkeeper Joanna Humphreys. The shot knocked Humphreys back on her heels and dribbled through for the goal.
Hanavan was in on all four goals, redirecting a pass from freshman midfielder Jamie Stephenson to Ormrod, who kicked in the third goal of the game in the 42nd minute.
Regis came out stronger in the second half with an early and aggressive attack. Regis freshman forward Carter Cornett scored on a rebounded shot in the 48th minute for the Ranger's only goal of the game.
Hanavan tallied the hat trick in the 77th minute, taking senior Jodi McGann's forward pass through several defenders before driving the left-footed shot home.
Photos by William Moore moorwill@mscd.edu
Metro forward, Amy Leichliter, battles for the ball with Regis defender, Lindsey Green, during the RMAC Conference Final Nov. 5 at Auraria Field. Metro completed another undefeated RMAC season, beating Regis 4-1 in the teams' third meeting of the 2005 soccer season.
"Last year, I had only one goal against Regis out of the four games," Hanavan said. "To get a hat trick against them is amazing."
The goal is the 29th of the season for Hanavan and broke the previous single-season record of 27 goals set by her last season.
"This was not necessarily just another game because it is Regis and it is the RMAC championship and so forth," Sanchez said. "But, really, next week is when it's all on the line and when we need to get the results."
Results have been positive for Metro thus far. The Roadrunners won their fourth straight RMAC title, finishing the season with a perfect regular season record (21-0).
The 'Runners have won 44 consecutive games overall and 47 games at Auraria Field, where Metro will host the regional first round of the NCAA tournament beginning Nov. 11.
On Friday at 11 a.m., Metro will take on Incarnate Word at Auraria Field. and Regis takes on Central Oklahoma following the Roadrunner game. The winners of each game will face each other at noon on Sunday, Nov. 13.
The Roadrunners and the Rangers were honored with 10 of the 11 All-Tournament awards, with Metro garnering six. Aside from MVP Hanavan, Prouty, Ormrod, junior midfielder Kira Sharp, freshman defensive back Nicole Cito and freshman goalkeeper Rachel Zollner were also honored.
Regis' Cornett, Tara Kirkpatrick, Katie Jardine and the Ranger's leading scorer Kate Murphy were all recognized. Becky Gilmore earnered the Skyhawks' lone vote.