Soccer Recap: Rams shutdown Falcons

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Team	1	2	Final F
Air Force	0	0	0
Colorado State	1	0	1

Air Force

Colorado State

Oct. 10, 2014 Final Stats

By Craig Buchanan

Athletic Media Relations

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – The Colorado State Rams (4-9-0, 2-3-0 MW) did something on Friday afternoon against Air Force (5-6-1, 2-2-1 MW) that it hadn’t done all season; score a first-half goal and play with the lead. Guided by Gianna Bertana’s 13th-minute goal, the Rams knocked off in-state rival Air Force, 1-0, at home in a crucial Mountain West showdown.

Donning orange tops and white shorts in honor of Colorado State’s agricultural history, the Rams came out from the opening kick looking like a team that was primed to score. In just the second minute of the match, Ruder attacked down the left flank and delivered a dangerous ball right along the edge of the six-yard box, but CSU wasn’t able to get a finishing touch on the ball.

Air Force showed its own promise in the early minutes as well, hitting the post off of a shot from the edge of the box in the fourth minute. That proved to be the most dangerous opportunity the Falcons would be awarded, as the Rams regrouped to shut down Air Force’s attack. 

In the 13th minute, Colorado State found its opening on a counter-attack when senior defender Catherine Ruder found freshman forward Janelle Stone open on the left flank. Stone delivered a brilliant left-footed pass that skirted along the ground at the edge of the six-yard box before junior forward Gianna Bertana gave a sliding effort to knock the ball into the back of the net for her third goal of the season. With the goal, Bertana is now CSU’s all-time leading goal scorer.

“The goal was a great goal,” Head Coach Bill Hempen said. “Janelle is on that left side and she’s got an unbelievable left foot. She had a great service and Gianna got on the end of it. We’ve had those chances a lot, and we finally stuck one.”

The goal also marked the first time this season that Colorado State has scored a goal in the first half, as the Rams had previously been out-scored 9-0 in the opening halves of games. With the lead, the Rams did not let up. The home side controlled possession in the midfield and were nearly rewarded with a second goal in the 32nd minute when Stone delivered another great ball, this time off a corner kick that found senior defender Jami Vaughn in the box. Vaughn’s glancing header went just wide of the frame.

Coming out of the break with a 1-0 lead, the Rams began to face more pressure from the Falcons in the opening minutes of the second half. Throughout all of the pressure though, Colorado State showcased its veteran leadership that it has at the back, headlined by Vaughn and Ruder, and shut down Air Force’s opportunities.

With Air Force desperately searching for an equalizer, the Falcons pushed more and more people into the attack, leaving them susceptible to a counter-attack from the Rams. Colorado State nearly capitalized numerous times off the counter-attack in the second half, but Air Force’s goalie kept the score at bay at 1-0 courtesy of a couple of diving saves. Still though, CSU’s defense proved to be too sharp and registered the team’s fourth shutout of the season.

With the win, Colorado State also finishes the Colorado Cup, a season-long tournament between the six Division I programs, at 2-1-0. Colorado State picked up wins over Air Force and Northern Colorado, and fell at Colorado, giving the Rams a total of eight points and putting them in a tie for second place. With just one game remaining between Air Force and Colorado College, Colorado State has guaranteed itself at least a top-three finish in this year’s Colorado Cup.

The Rams return to the field on Sunday for another in-state Mountain West showdown against conference-newcomer Colorado College. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m. MT at The Lagoon. 

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Bertana Gianna

Stone Janelle

Bratschun Erika

Sweeney Bri

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Gianna Bertana

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