Moments of Brilliance Lift Rams Past LA Tech

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Sep 14

12:00 p.m.

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Katy Coffin's 'Big Five Moment' of individual brilliance to score early in Sunday's match against Louisiana Tech would have been enough to open the home schedule with a win.

Olivia Fout joined in the fun with her own moment for Colorado State's women's soccer team in the second half, and Coffin had a second flash of greatness later on to beat the Bulldogs 3-0 and improve to 1-0-1 on the season.

As the two sides were settling into the match along with the fans in attendance at Canvas Stadium's practice field, Coffin challenged an LA Tech defender, stole the ball and took a shot from outside the box. She beat Laerke Holst's outstretched hands to bury her first career goal in the 5th minute.

Any positive moment that comes thanks to the heightened level of effort and competitiveness in the first and last five minutes of a half is considered a "Big Five Moment" for Keeley Hagen's Rams. Coffin's first goal was a perfect example. So was Fout's 50th minute goal, a solo run down the left side she cut back inside and put it over a jumping Holst with the help of a deflection.

The finishing touches were brought by Coffin, who scored her second goal on a 30-yard free kick in the 63rd minute.

"My second one wasn't a big five moment, but Keeley just told me to take a chance," Coffin said. "She told me to try for the upper right, so I just went for it."

The individual efforts by Coffin and Fout were the difference in scoring for the Rams, but it was a team effort to keep LA Tech off the board. From playing high defense and smothering the Bulldogs within their own half, everyone needed to be involved.

Hagen noticed the Rams' defensive pressure lacking a little bit in the middle of the first half, when LA Tech was able to produce all four of their first-half shots in a 12-minute stretch and possess the ball for extended periods of time. After making the right adjustments to finish the half, the Bulldogs went without a shot for the final 20 minutes before the intermission.

In the second half, the Rams held LA Tech to just three shots. Only one was on target.

"I just talked to them about 'hey, we do fitness for a reason,'" Hagen said. "And in the second half, it's easier to sub people in and out. So, we stepped up our pressure, which is a credit to our team, because it's team defending. Everybody stepped up so it helped us."

The first home match of the season is important for any team looking to get momentum going for a season. For the Rams, it was a great pleasure to start off with such a bang in front of a sizable crowd.

"We just love the support," Hagen said. "When people are standing on the sidelines, it makes a big difference for us."

The crowd was an especially sweet sight for Coffin, who gave the fans two great goals to open her account at CSU. She's not one of the 12 new faces on the team, but she can now call herself a college goal scorer, and she did it in front of a slew of friendly faces.

"Doing it in front of these people means everything to me," Coffin said. "I think it just shows the hard work that we've all put in as a team, and I wouldn't be able to do it without my coaching staff and teammates."

Next up for the Rams is a road trip to Riverside, Calif., to take on California Baptist on Aug. 27 at 5 p.m. Their next home match will be on Aug. 31 against UMKC.

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