More Ready Than Ever
Soccer team heads into conference filled with confidence
Mike Brohard
The lead-in didn’t leave any of them happy.
Far from it. A pair of gut-wrenching losses should have an impact. The real effect is the team is rather ticked off. Which is something Keeley Hagen hasn’t seen before.
That makes her happy.
“They’ve put a lot of work in. While we’re not getting the results this past two weekends, they care, and they’re invested,” Hagen said. I think this is just some adversity and it’s good for us to have some of this so we can go into conference and push through and learn from these things now. You always want to learn and not make the same mistakes twice.”
After two years of trying to build a culture and a system, Hagen is seeing it show up on the pitch with her team, and the Rams will head into Mountain West play with a 5-2-1 start. What she envisioned is what she’s starting to witness on game day.
There are the familiar faces who have been involved in the construction since ground was first broken. The program has added some new players along the way who have helped stoke the competitiveness. After two years of helping her try to cultivate the dream, Kenady Leighton now sees it as the team’s reality.
“We’re a cohesive team. That’s what we are,” said Leighton, who has started all 51 of her career matches played. “We’re cohesive, we’re ruthless and those are the principles we’re building off of, and we have the personnel to do that. I feel really confident in each one of my teammates and Keeley and the coaches. We know what we all need to do, now it’s just executing it this next weekend.
“These losses aren’t going to define us, and we’re moving forward. Revenge and redemption next weekend. That’s what we’re aiming for.”
Colorado State went 1-4-6 in the Mountain West a season ago, all of them tight games. The Rams felt close but missed a few ingredients. There were tough, frustrating goals allowed. There were chances at the net which were missed. What the preseason slate has shown the squad is advancement.
The defense has tightened up. Leighton remains a pillar, and Kaitlyn Abrams in another role has strengthened the line. So too has the addition of Avery Vander Ven. Behind them, Shayna Ross has taken over in net and produced a .75 goals-against average, posting 22 saves while playing every minute of the season – just like the three players in front of her.
The Rams were also plagued by offensive punch, or rather, a hammer. A go-to who would deliver. This year, they have Olivia Fout.
The transfer from Auburn has already produced six goals on the season, scoring twice against Utah Tech when the team trailed 2-0 early. It’s a figure which ranks tied for seventh in career goals. That’s right, a career.
The Rams’ leader last year had six goals as the team scored 15. The year before, Kristen Noonan had seven as they scored 19. This squad has 11 with 11 games to play in the regular season.
“I mean, she’s a great addition to the team. This team is coming together, and it’s not just coming from Fout, but we love to have her,” Leighton said. “It’s been a great addition to the team because we’re creating a lot of chances. I can’t wait to build and have more people score.”
We play to win, but that’s not the main reason. We play for each other.Liv Stutzman
Which is exactly what Hagen wants to see.
Fout has been a handful for teams. She became the first player in program history to connect in three consecutive games, and she did it in the opening three. She’s active, physical and can create her own openings. She has a shooter’s mentality and force behind her attempts. Future opponents will recognize as much, which Utah did on Sunday. She drew extra attention.
What Hagen wants to spin from the development is opportunities for others and the mindset to capitalize. Four other Rams have scored but only Katy Coffin has more than one, and her two came in the same game.
“At times, and this is a good learning experience for that, she’s going to be double-teamed and pinned in, and others are going to step up,” Hagen said. “Again, we created opportunities for other people, but we have to execute and put it in the back of the net. Credit Fout for doing that. Now, it’s how do we get to the next level knowing she’s going to get double teamed.
“You need goal scorers, right? That’s the name of the game, but that needs to be plural, it can’t just be one person. Then that makes us one dimensional. Going into conference, we’re going to add a few things in to hopefully open up the game for other opportunities for other people to step up.”
The Rams put together their best preseason run in history. The other part of the fact is it comes with two consecutive losses.
Like a Bond concoction, the Rams were a bit shaken but not stirred from the pre-planned course of action. Because the base Hagen wanted to build from has created a solid foundation, which is something the new kids have bolstered.
“I think we base a lot of our principles around having composure and being consistent in what we do. I think there is a little bit of fire having lost twice going into conference,” Liv Stutzman said. “We just have to execute what we know how to do.
“I’m super confident in what we know how to do.”
So is Hagen. Finally, she believes everybody is on the bus. It’s taken steps. They needed to develop leadership. The Rams have strong leaders who pull people along. She knows they no longer let things slide, because she hears them speak up to each other.
Accountability is apparent, top to bottom. They’re not perfect by any means, but the target still remains.
So does the main goal -- Win the Mountain West title. Their motivation is just as important to them, and the additions have not gotten in the way, but helped clear the path.
“I think that was just the standard coming in. I think we all knew what we wanted to do,” Stutzman said. “We all want to win every game that we can, and I think that’s the expectation. I think this family, we play for each other. We play to win, but that’s not the main reason. We play for each other.”
A bump in the road changes nothing. The Rams open at home this week with matches against Nevada (Thursday, 4 p.m.) and UNLV (Sunday, 1 p.m.).
It’s another lead-in the Rams expect to get right.