Colorado State University Athletics
Sunday, October 6
Fort Collins, CO
12:00 pm
Colorado State
3
vs
2
Fresno State
Remaining Perfect on an Imperfect Day
10/6/2024 4:40:00 PM | Women's Soccer
Casey paces offense with two tallies
Mia Casey likes the phrase so much she's going to have it tattooed on her forehead.
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Or so she says. She can be a bit sarcastic.
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Even still, she has a point, and so does the message the Colorado State women's soccer team has had delivered to them by Ross Barr, the athletic department's director of student-athlete mental health and performance.
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"He talks a lot about just flushing it, take a deep breath," Casey said. "You can control what you can control. The past has come and gone, the future has yet to come, that's what Ross says. I'm going to get a tattoo on my forehead."
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For the Rams, Sunday's positive outcome came with a dose of reality at the end of a 3-2 victory over Fresno State at CSU Soccer Field. They won, moving to 8-3-1 overall, a spotless 4-0-0 mark in Mountain West play and 4-1-1 on their new pitch.
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The Rams also led 3-0 in the 67th minute. Not an ideal the ideal way to finish, but it does open the door as a reminder matches last a full 90 minutes.
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"Obviously, we're happy coming away with a win at the end of the day. To make a golf reference, in the day you don't see how the score happened, so a win is a win," defender Avery Vander Ven said. "There are some things we'd like to clean up, especially the second goal. The penalty kicks were what they were, and Libby (Brooker) came up with a big save – it's hard to save two in a game. I think it's a learning experience for us, how to close out an entire second half. Still, happy we came out with a win."
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Colorado State coach Keeley Hagen has her team thinking rather compartmentally. Half by half. Match by match. She has them constantly thinking about being present in the moment, which Brooker was in her second start.
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In the 53rd minute, Fresno State's Kaelyn Miller was awarded the first of two penalty kicks for the Bulldogs in the second half, with Brooker diving to her right to stop the shot. It seemed impressive more than important, considering the save kept it a 3-0 game.
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"If she doesn't save that, it maybe ends up a 3-all game. Goals turn the tide; they change the energy," Vander Ven said. "That save gave us some energy and gave us some momentum. If she doesn't save that, who knows where the momentum goes."
Â
And it was lopsided for the Rams in large part due to the play of Casey.
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A match after missing a wide-open look on net, she delivered a pair of first-half goals and assisted on what became the game winner early in the second. Her five-point outing has her tied for the team lead with 10.
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Casey's first came in the 10th minute off a feed from Kaja Dionne, the second in the 36th off an assist from Ali Yoshida, giving her three goals, all since conference play began.
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Less than 3 minutes into the second, Casey's delivery off a corner kick found the head of Vander Ven, who cashed in the chance for her first goal of the season. She became the 10th different Ram to find the net this year, the first time since 2017 the program has had 10 or more players score goals in a season.
Â
At the moment, nothing could have been better. Yet in the final five minutes, the Rams were having to fight to keep the victory, with Fresno State putting on more pressure. It was a 3-1 game when Ciara Wilson cashed in the second penalty kick, and in the 84th minute, Wilson fed Miller from across the goal mouth to tighten the contest.
Â
The Rams additionally missed a few chances to put the game even further out of reach. Four times in the contest they hit the crossbar, twice in one sequence right before the Bulldogs' second goal.
Â
Hagen would prefer to see them cashed in, but she also sees it as an indicator her squad is applying ample pressure. Casey, naturally, found the silver lining in the doinks.
Â
"I'm going to go with the theme and take the positive outlook it's encouraging. We're right there, and crossbars are great," Casey said. "Crossbars are the frame and you're hitting the frame, but you can follow up. My first goal came off a crossbar shot. If you're hitting the frame, that's all that matters. Anything can happen once the ball hits the frame. Keeley talks about if you hit it over it's just as good as rolling the ball out."
Â
Rolling over wasn't in the plan, either. That's not how teams put together five-match win streaks, and those don't happen if team's don't learn from both the good and the bad.
Â
Hagen said these are the matches good teams grow from, take ques and apply them down the road. It was a sentiment Casey echoed.
Â
"They won the second half. We got fortunate we won the whole game, but the second half was 2-1," she said. "Those things are going to happen, but as a team, I didn't see anyone put their head down, everyone was really encouraging, no one was yelling at each other. That's what we came out on top because we were happy to be out there. It was a great day. We knew we had a chance to prove this team is coming at us but it's not enough to beat us.
Â
"That's the whole point of the culture of this team. It's the next run. Any pass you miss, any pass your teammates miss, it's the next one."
Â
A process the Rams have committed to memory, even if not printed on their foreheads.
Â
Â
Or so she says. She can be a bit sarcastic.
Â
Even still, she has a point, and so does the message the Colorado State women's soccer team has had delivered to them by Ross Barr, the athletic department's director of student-athlete mental health and performance.
Â
"He talks a lot about just flushing it, take a deep breath," Casey said. "You can control what you can control. The past has come and gone, the future has yet to come, that's what Ross says. I'm going to get a tattoo on my forehead."
Â
For the Rams, Sunday's positive outcome came with a dose of reality at the end of a 3-2 victory over Fresno State at CSU Soccer Field. They won, moving to 8-3-1 overall, a spotless 4-0-0 mark in Mountain West play and 4-1-1 on their new pitch.
Â
The Rams also led 3-0 in the 67th minute. Not an ideal the ideal way to finish, but it does open the door as a reminder matches last a full 90 minutes.
Â
"Obviously, we're happy coming away with a win at the end of the day. To make a golf reference, in the day you don't see how the score happened, so a win is a win," defender Avery Vander Ven said. "There are some things we'd like to clean up, especially the second goal. The penalty kicks were what they were, and Libby (Brooker) came up with a big save – it's hard to save two in a game. I think it's a learning experience for us, how to close out an entire second half. Still, happy we came out with a win."
Â
Colorado State coach Keeley Hagen has her team thinking rather compartmentally. Half by half. Match by match. She has them constantly thinking about being present in the moment, which Brooker was in her second start.
Â
In the 53rd minute, Fresno State's Kaelyn Miller was awarded the first of two penalty kicks for the Bulldogs in the second half, with Brooker diving to her right to stop the shot. It seemed impressive more than important, considering the save kept it a 3-0 game.
Â
"If she doesn't save that, it maybe ends up a 3-all game. Goals turn the tide; they change the energy," Vander Ven said. "That save gave us some energy and gave us some momentum. If she doesn't save that, who knows where the momentum goes."
Â
And it was lopsided for the Rams in large part due to the play of Casey.
Â
A match after missing a wide-open look on net, she delivered a pair of first-half goals and assisted on what became the game winner early in the second. Her five-point outing has her tied for the team lead with 10.
Â
Casey's first came in the 10th minute off a feed from Kaja Dionne, the second in the 36th off an assist from Ali Yoshida, giving her three goals, all since conference play began.
Â
Less than 3 minutes into the second, Casey's delivery off a corner kick found the head of Vander Ven, who cashed in the chance for her first goal of the season. She became the 10th different Ram to find the net this year, the first time since 2017 the program has had 10 or more players score goals in a season.
Â
At the moment, nothing could have been better. Yet in the final five minutes, the Rams were having to fight to keep the victory, with Fresno State putting on more pressure. It was a 3-1 game when Ciara Wilson cashed in the second penalty kick, and in the 84th minute, Wilson fed Miller from across the goal mouth to tighten the contest.
Â
The Rams additionally missed a few chances to put the game even further out of reach. Four times in the contest they hit the crossbar, twice in one sequence right before the Bulldogs' second goal.
Â
Hagen would prefer to see them cashed in, but she also sees it as an indicator her squad is applying ample pressure. Casey, naturally, found the silver lining in the doinks.
Â
"I'm going to go with the theme and take the positive outlook it's encouraging. We're right there, and crossbars are great," Casey said. "Crossbars are the frame and you're hitting the frame, but you can follow up. My first goal came off a crossbar shot. If you're hitting the frame, that's all that matters. Anything can happen once the ball hits the frame. Keeley talks about if you hit it over it's just as good as rolling the ball out."
Â
Rolling over wasn't in the plan, either. That's not how teams put together five-match win streaks, and those don't happen if team's don't learn from both the good and the bad.
Â
Hagen said these are the matches good teams grow from, take ques and apply them down the road. It was a sentiment Casey echoed.
Â
"They won the second half. We got fortunate we won the whole game, but the second half was 2-1," she said. "Those things are going to happen, but as a team, I didn't see anyone put their head down, everyone was really encouraging, no one was yelling at each other. That's what we came out on top because we were happy to be out there. It was a great day. We knew we had a chance to prove this team is coming at us but it's not enough to beat us.
Â
"That's the whole point of the culture of this team. It's the next run. Any pass you miss, any pass your teammates miss, it's the next one."
Â
A process the Rams have committed to memory, even if not printed on their foreheads.
Â
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's Soccer
M
/ Women's Soccer
M/F
/ Women's Soccer2025 Soccer Experience
Thursday, October 09
Colorado State Soccer: Fout (L), Hagen (M), McGowan (R) (9/1/25)
Monday, September 01
Colorado State Soccer: Mia Casey (L) & Kate Dunne (R) (8/6/25)
Wednesday, August 06
Colorado State Soccer: Keeley Hagen Media (8/6/25)
Wednesday, August 06