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RMAC rivals routed by 'Runners
Grizzlies and Cowgirls helpless against rampant Metro scoring attack
By Eric Lansing and Jeremy Johnson
lansing@mscd.edu
jjohn308@mscd.edu

Photo by Jeremy Billis • jbillis@mscd.edu Senior forward Kira Sharp (right) eyes the ball after New Mexico Highlands Gina Duttle (left) falls Sunday at Auraria Field. The Roadrunners scored three goals, with two assists by defender Jenna Oney, and allowed the Cowgirls to record only one shot all game. Metro shutout New Mexico Highlands 3-0 in RMAC play.

The Metro women’s soccer team showed Adams State and the country why they are ranked fifth in NCAA Division-II with an 11-1 blowout victory at Auraria Field on Sept. 1. Goals were tallied by eight Roadrunners, and forward Kylee Hanavan scored her first hat trick of the season. Hanavan, who posted four hat tricks last season, won Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Player of the Week a week ago.

“People underestimated us because we lost so many people,” said Hanavan. “We just want to build the team like we did last year and the year before and hopefully make it to the National Championship.”

Metro’s dominance kept the game in the Grizzlies’ zone all day. The Roadrunners forwards and midfielders pressured Adams State, forcing several bad passes and turnovers.

Midfielder Becca Mays kept Adams State from any kind of offensive threat by recording numerous steals and assisting on the opening goal in the fourth minute.

Head coach Danny Sanchez said the team was very active and that the pressure eventually wore down the Grizzlies. Sanchez’s Roadrunners pressured a tired Grizzlies team that outlasted New Mexico Highlands for a 1-0 win the day before.

Scoring 11 goals in a game was a fine feat, but the stat of the night was the 32 shots on goal. The Roadrunners’ offensive onslaught came in waves as the Adams State defense could not contain the three-headed monster of Hanavan, midfielder Becca Mays and forward Kira Sharp. The three players combined for six goals, two assists and 16 shots on goal.

The freshman Mays looked impressive in this young soccer season. She scored the opening goal when she received a pass from Brown, blew past two Grizzlies defenders and fired a rocket past the goalkeeper.

Mays scored her third goal of the season in the 63rd minute off an assist by midfielder Amira Ebel.

“(Mays) came ready to play,” said Hanavan. “Today, she was a little unfit, but she did what she had to do. She’s strong off the ball and can finish.”

After Mays and Hanavan combined for five goals, the rest of the team followed suit. With just over 20 minutes left in the game, six players scored goals, including Ebel, defensive back Jenna Oney, forward Kira Sharp, forward Katie Kilbey, midfielder Jamie Stephenson and forward Alyssa Wolfer.

Adams State’s lone goal was an own goal. While attempting to clear the ball from Metro’s zone, keeper Rachel Zollner inadvertently hit a Metro defender in the back and the ball deflected into the ’Runners net. The goal was credited to forward Kyle Hurley, who was the last Grizzly to touch the ball.

“We did lose a lot of great players from last year, but I think this year our team has a lot more heart,” Sharp said. “I think heart sometimes takes a higher standard than skill. I think we have a shot at (a championship) because these girls want to win.”

The ’Runners showed more heart the following Sunday when they took the home field against New Mexico Highlands. Metro was shut down in the first half, but scored three goals in the second half for the 3-0 win. The home win was the 53rd consecutive victory at Auraria field dating back to 2002.

Midfielder Jessica Brown scored three minutes into the second half off an assist by Oney. Just 53 seconds later, in the 49th minute, the ’Runners got an insurance goal when Hanavan drilled home a penalty kick.

The goal was the fourth of the weekend for Hanavan and gave her 12 points on the season. A questionable red card in the 83rd minute of Sunday’s game forced the senior out of Metro’s Sept. 6 match against Colorado Christian.

Defensive back Brooke Kiefer put the game away with a header goal in the 62nd minute. The goal was the first of the season for the senior back and came off of Oney’s second assist of the game. Oney was named the RMAC Player of the Week on Sept. 5.

“I feel like we played really well,” Oney said. “We picked it up from our last game and we were able to play our point players a little more, get it down the line, cross it and finish it.

The ’Runners continued to control the tempo of the game by attacking frequently and keeping the ball in the Cowgirls’ zone. Metro accumulated eight shots on in each half and limited Highlands to only one shot – an outside kick that sailed well over Zollner.

Defensive back Shelley Radosevich credited a change in defensive scheme as a key to the early success Metro has had with keeping the ball out away from the goal. The ‘Runners have begun using a 3-5-3 formation as compared to their previous 2-4-4 lineup.

“I think our midfield is more effective having five in the middle,” Radosevich said. “We’re able to switch (the ball) through the back faster and then through the midfield. From top to bottom, everyone’s playing great so our defense as a team is great and everything’s just coming together so well.”

The Roadrunners (4-0, 2-0 RMAC) continue conference play with a home game against Colorado Christian Sept. 6. Metro then hits the road, traveling to Grand Junction and Durango where they will play Mesa State and Fort Lewis, respectively.