Colorado State University Athletics
Thursday, September 12
Fort Collins, CO
7:00 pm
Colorado State
3-3-1, 0-0-0
0
vs
1
Denver
6-3-0, 0-0-0
1
2
F
Denver
0
1
1
Colorado St.
0
0
0
Defensive Lapses Doom Rams
9/12/2024 10:19:00 PM | Women's Soccer
Pioneers tally lone goal on Thursday
Disorganized defense can be the downfall of any sport, and for Colorado State women's soccer it was just that on Thursday against Denver.
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The Front Range rivalry between Denver and CSU ended 1-0 with a goal by the Pioneers' Vanessa Murray in the second half, and CSU's defense could not keep up.
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The back line of the Rams kept letting offenders through leading to Denver leading by six on shots and racking up eight corner kicks by the 90-minute mark. Goalie Shayna Ross ended up saving two of the shots on goal but ultimately let one go through.
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"I think, at the end of the day, our breakdowns were self-inflicted," senior Maggie Altman said. "I think we have to start looking internally and how we can fix those little breakdowns while we're out there without having to bring it in."
Â
No timeouts, no huddles until halftime, soccer is focused solely on the communication between players, not necessarily between the coach and those on the field.
Â
Those playing on the pitch must trust in their teammates and learn the opponent's strategy without the help of the coach until halftime.
Â
"They play a unique shape," coach Keeley Hagan said. "We organized all week for it and when they made that little adjustment centrally, we struggled with that adjustment. So, it's just knowing your roles and cleaning that up, and again, communication. All things we go through in training and talked about in our huddle."
Â
Knowing the roles each player plays on the field impacts the synergy between all of them and it wasn't in tune when the Rams took on the Pioneers.
Â
Sophomore Mia Casey ended up with the most shots at four but postgame, she was not satisfied with how Denver got through and ended up scoring.
Â
"For ourselves its defensive organization," Casey said. "I think the times that they were most dangerous was because we had a breakdown somewhere, whether it's in the midfield or the back, and even up top. Keeley always talks about defense being our best form of offense and how defense can win championships."
Â
In the first half alone, the Pioneers took possession 54% of the time mainly staying in the Rams defensive zone and keeping the ball away from theirs.
Â
This tactic led to CSU's defense becoming disorganized with non-effective communication between players, something CSU soccer has been working on since the preseason with the addition of transfer Maggie Altman to the roster.
Â
The transfer from Nebraska holds the captain title and was solidly focused on communication throughout the match and improving it in the future.
Â
"With our defensive shape, can we get stuck in better and stay compacted in the midfield so we're not letting up those little chances so moving forward those breakdowns don't happen," Altman said.
Â
One way the defensive edge will be improved is through practice and finding the cracks in the foundation of their defense.
Â
Their goal for the game, however, was leaning towards defensive solidity and making a point to focus on it heavily in practice before the game.
Â
"A lot of our goals (coming into this game) were defensive goals," Casey said. "We really were trying to focus on our defensive organization and worked on that a lot in practice and the goal was to just jell better. I think we did that at times, but it wasn't very consistent. But we're still building. It's still pre-conference so we still have one more game to keep working."
Â
Working further on their defensive edge is going to be an important part of going into games against opponents like San Diego State and Boise State, which CSU lost last season.
Â
Non-conference play serves to understand the team which wishes to come together and even if the Rams did not come out with a win, playing against the Pioneers served as a steppingstone toward conference play and better understanding the faults which lie within the team.
Â
As the team draws closer to playing their first conference game against the Air Force Academy, reorganizing the defense becomes top priority.Â
Â
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The Front Range rivalry between Denver and CSU ended 1-0 with a goal by the Pioneers' Vanessa Murray in the second half, and CSU's defense could not keep up.
Â
The back line of the Rams kept letting offenders through leading to Denver leading by six on shots and racking up eight corner kicks by the 90-minute mark. Goalie Shayna Ross ended up saving two of the shots on goal but ultimately let one go through.
Â
"I think, at the end of the day, our breakdowns were self-inflicted," senior Maggie Altman said. "I think we have to start looking internally and how we can fix those little breakdowns while we're out there without having to bring it in."
Â
No timeouts, no huddles until halftime, soccer is focused solely on the communication between players, not necessarily between the coach and those on the field.
Â
Those playing on the pitch must trust in their teammates and learn the opponent's strategy without the help of the coach until halftime.
Â
"They play a unique shape," coach Keeley Hagan said. "We organized all week for it and when they made that little adjustment centrally, we struggled with that adjustment. So, it's just knowing your roles and cleaning that up, and again, communication. All things we go through in training and talked about in our huddle."
Â
Knowing the roles each player plays on the field impacts the synergy between all of them and it wasn't in tune when the Rams took on the Pioneers.
Â
Sophomore Mia Casey ended up with the most shots at four but postgame, she was not satisfied with how Denver got through and ended up scoring.
Â
"For ourselves its defensive organization," Casey said. "I think the times that they were most dangerous was because we had a breakdown somewhere, whether it's in the midfield or the back, and even up top. Keeley always talks about defense being our best form of offense and how defense can win championships."
Â
In the first half alone, the Pioneers took possession 54% of the time mainly staying in the Rams defensive zone and keeping the ball away from theirs.
Â
This tactic led to CSU's defense becoming disorganized with non-effective communication between players, something CSU soccer has been working on since the preseason with the addition of transfer Maggie Altman to the roster.
Â
The transfer from Nebraska holds the captain title and was solidly focused on communication throughout the match and improving it in the future.
Â
"With our defensive shape, can we get stuck in better and stay compacted in the midfield so we're not letting up those little chances so moving forward those breakdowns don't happen," Altman said.
Â
One way the defensive edge will be improved is through practice and finding the cracks in the foundation of their defense.
Â
Their goal for the game, however, was leaning towards defensive solidity and making a point to focus on it heavily in practice before the game.
Â
"A lot of our goals (coming into this game) were defensive goals," Casey said. "We really were trying to focus on our defensive organization and worked on that a lot in practice and the goal was to just jell better. I think we did that at times, but it wasn't very consistent. But we're still building. It's still pre-conference so we still have one more game to keep working."
Â
Working further on their defensive edge is going to be an important part of going into games against opponents like San Diego State and Boise State, which CSU lost last season.
Â
Non-conference play serves to understand the team which wishes to come together and even if the Rams did not come out with a win, playing against the Pioneers served as a steppingstone toward conference play and better understanding the faults which lie within the team.
Â
As the team draws closer to playing their first conference game against the Air Force Academy, reorganizing the defense becomes top priority.Â
Â
Team Stats
DEN
CSU
Goals
1
0
Shots
16
10
Shots on Goal
3
1
Saves
1
2
Corners
8
4
Fouls
6
5
Scoring Plays
Vanessa Murray (1)
GOAL by DEN Murray, Vanessa.
48:07
Game Leaders
mid
Shots
2
SOG
1
Goals
0
Assists
0
Shots
2
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
0
Shots
1
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
0
Players Mentioned
2025 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