sports
Metro soccer stays strong
Women still No. 1
The Metro women's soccer team survived a second-half rally by Adams State College for a 3-2 victory Friday at Alamosa. Paired with a 4-0 divisional win over New Mexico Highlands, the Roadrunners improved to 9-0 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
The 'Runners, who have been ranked No. 1 in the nation since preseason, improved to 15-0 overall and haven't lost in 39 consecutive games.
Team captain and senior forward Amy Leichliter scored the first goal for Metro in the 24th minute by guiding home a free kick assist from junior midfielder Kira Sharp. Six minutes later, freshman forward Anne Ormrod scored her 12th goal of the season on a Leichliter assist and the Roadrunners maintained the 2-0 lead through halftime.
Just two minutes into the second stanza the Grizzlies (6-8, 3-5 RMAC) fought back with a goal. Adams State junior forward Sara Lyles stole a pass from the 'Runners' freshman goalkeeper Rachel Zollner to score the unassisted goal.
Sophomore Sarah Johnson then scored the second goal for the Grizzlies off a penalty kick with 12 minutes left in the game.
"It's good for us to have games where we have to battle a little bit," Metro head coach Danny Sanchez said. "We were pleased to get the results we did on the road."
Metro out-shot Adams State 31-7 in the game and 19-1 in the first half alone, yet the Grizzlies are only the second team this season to score two goals against the 'Runners red shirt freshman goalie. The first was Ft. Lewis College.
"To come from behind like we did against Metro showed a lot of guts," Adams State head coach Dale Roden said. "It is something that the seniors and everyone else is going to remember for the rest of their lives."
The comeback was short-lived. Freshman and backup midfielder Vanessa Mais drove in a header off a Krystal Kilbey free kick to give the Roadrunners the victory.
Metro then traveled to Las Vegas, N.M., Sunday to take on New Mexico Highlands University. Led by Ormrod and Leichliter, Metro tallied its second 4-0 win of the season over the Cowgirls (7-7, 4-5 RMAC).
After a scoreless first half, Ormrod buried her 14th goal of the season off a penalty kick four minutes into the second half. Leichliter became the third player to reach double-digit scoring when the senior captain blasted in a rebound for her tenth goal of the year.
Kylee Hanavan anchored the latter part of the second half and further cemented her Player-of-the-Year bid with two goals. Hanavan scored in the 70th minute off a Katie Kilbey assist and again in the 76th minute, this time off of Sharp's second assist of the weekend.
Metro heads to Durango on Friday to take on Ft. Lewis before traveling to Grand Junction to play Mesa State College. Both games are at 1 p.m.
"We need to make sure we stay focused on the games this weekend before worrying about Regis on Wednesday," Sanchez said.
Metro returns to Denver on Wednesday to play Regis in what may be a preview of the RMAC championship. The Roadrunners won the first meeting 1-0, but are traveling to the Rangers' home field for the rematch. The game starts at 3:30 p.m.