Rams Finish Even Against Broncos - Colorado State Athletics

Team	1	2	Final F
Boise St.	0	0	0
Colorado St.	0	0	0

Sometimes, a tie isn't always a bad thing.

Colorado State (3-10-2 overall, 2-3-0 Pac-12) proved as much on Thursday, finishing in a scoreless draw against Boise State, which entered the night second in the league standings.

Coming off a two-game losing streak, the Rams last played Texas State and fell 1-0 with a goal scored early in the first half. Despite an unfortunate outcome, the loss didn't feel like one to the Rams, who felt that the effort was there they just couldn't produce.

"I feel like we did well against Texas State and didn't get the result, but we played well as a team. I thought we did better this game," coach Keeley Hagen said. "So, it's just building on the positive performances that we had."

The Broncos walked into the match with a 4-1-0 conference record, with 12 points, trailing just behind Utah State at 13.

The Rams and Broncos have a long history going back to Mountain West play, Boise leading the series 8-0-4, this being the 13th time these two have met, with three out of four past home meetings resulting in ties.

"I think for us just the history we have with Boise ... We haven't beaten them since we've been here. If you can find a way to make everything a little bit personal to you, you end up showing up bigger and better because it means so much to you," senior Mia Casey said. "I think everyone on the team did that, even the girls who don't have a history with playing them. They just fed off of the older girls and the returners' history. I think that really came out today, the passion."

The last time these two teams faced off resulted in a 1-0 win for Boise State after a goal in the final 10 minutes. A second half team, the Rams know how important the starting and last minutes are and in the case of today's game, while not putting a score on the board, they still managed to fend off the Broncos.

The two teams opened the match strong and physically, something that the Rams have often experienced in the new Pac-12.

With the defense working hard on the back end, it helped keep the Broncos at bay, particularly stopping Mia Lane who leads the Pac-12 with five conference goals.

"It's just being gritty. Things aren't going to go your way, but I think you saw our players throwing their bodies and putting them on the line and being physical while also helping defense. It should never be a 1v1," Hagen said. "I really felt like our team was just so collective tonight and we didn't get the result we wanted, which has been the theme for the season, even though we're doing some good things. But tonight I really felt like it was a collective effort."

The second half was similar to the first, the same intensity from the start, truly a back-and-forth battle, both teams equally occupying space in the offensive zone.

Good chances came from both ends. Poppy O'Brien had a strong shot saved by the goalkeeper in the 48th minute and CSU goalie Addison Huber showed her control in the net with multiple strong saves.

An important factor of this team, Huber came into this year ready to prove something, and that she has done.

"Well, it's really simple. She needs to make the saves she's supposed to and make a great one. She made a great one there at the end. I'm really proud of her," Hagen said. "I mean, this is her first season and she's learning on the job really quick. She's very coachable and she's willing to take physical risks. So that's what we need to coach her for."

In her first season with the Rams, Huber has started all 16 games totaling 1395 minutes, making this her third clean sheet of the season.

Her success has been built up throughout each game she has played this year, and the more games, the more confidence she is showing.

"I don't know how many saves I had today, but I had that one really big one in the second half and just used my abilities. Some people in my middle school called me the flying squirrel so using that to my strength to help play to the level," Huber said. "I think I do that a lot; that's my most consistent thing. It's just my ability to play to my strengths and having my defense to help me on things I need to build up."

A strong goalie in between the pipes fires up the defense and offense, and in addition to a new setup, the Rams have a unique opportunity in the form of depth across their roster.

Freshman have logged more than 2,800 minutes for CSU this season. With Breckyn Ferrell and Kennedy Albertson each having nine starts, their class has produced three goals and two assists.

"I mean, at the end of the day, we're going to play the best 11, and they've earned it. The players that we're going to play are the ones that are executing consistently in training, and we get them in the game, and that's what we're doing," Hagen said. "It's baptism by fire for them, but they're doing a great job, and they're learning on the job right away."

The past two games have produced starts from freshmen Ava Wallhead and O'Brien, and Wallhead is tied with Casey at three goals for the season.

Depth is also seen among the ages on this Ram team, filling out in experience and knowledge, making the team diverse across all ends.

"We go from 26-year-olds to 18-year-olds, so a crazy amount of depth with so much experience on the team. I'm very fortunate to be here for two years now and just learn from my seniors and continue learning from even the transfers that are older than the seniors and everyone in between," Huber said. "With travel trips it's always a different grade with each other and last time I was with Kaja (Dionne), and I learned so much from her. It doesn't go from the seniors to drop off; every single grade level has so much to them."

Truly a hard fight for both teams, and a deserved tie for the Rams. This puts them still in the running for the Pac-12 tournament.

Typically a scoreless game is not looked at as a success, but for the Rams it proved that they could keep up with the big dogs and that tournament play can still be in their future.

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