The Rams Strike Right on Time

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Oct 11

1:00 p.m.

Women's Soccer

at San Diego State

Oct 16

6:00 p.m.

Women's Soccer

at Texas State

Oct 22

6:00 p.m.

Women's Soccer

vs Boise State

Oct 25

2:00 p.m.

Women's Soccer

at Oregon State

Oct 31

12:00 p.m.

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vs Washington State

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

Gonzaga

Colorado St.

One thing folks should know about Colorado State, never count them out.

After two long halves of play, the Rams scored their golden goal Thursday afternoon at Rams Soccer Field, defeating Gonzaga in the 80th minute 1-0.

The Rams are known to never quit. When the sun sets and the night looks bleak, they shine through with the intention they can be where needed in the moment. Doing consistently is the chase, with the team now sitting at 3-8-2 overall, but 2-1-0 in Pac-12 play.

A slow start to the first half, CSU and Gonzaga battled it out. Playing good teams, the Rams know how to hold their own, however possession of the ball is a common thorn. Ending the first half, the Bulldogs dominated in shots, tripling the Rams 9-3. With multiple good tries from both teams, the first half came up short on all ends.

"I think when it comes to the second half, it's either going to go super south or super north. I think that's kind of what we've seen," senior Kaja Dionne said. "It happened last game. We were doing pretty good and then the second half came around and we kind of dipped that game. I feel like it was switched today. So it really just depends."

As the Rams filed off the field, a sudden change occurred in Fort Collins, either the excitement of the October season or the shifting winds; it seemed a new team took the field.

To contrast a slow beginning, the Rams picked it up in the second with immediate intensity. In the first 10 minutes, CSU recorded five shots to catch up to the Bulldogs. The Rams saw a close chance with a shot which rang off the post by Brecken Ferrell, just one of many chances that the Rams saw in the half.

Gonzaga was awarded two penalty shots in the second, both very close but no pressure for goaltender Addison Huber, one of which doinked off a goal post.

A strong force between the posts, Huber denied all attempts by the vicious Bulldogs. With suggestions from the coaches, Huber let her voice and expertise be heard throughout all of Ram Field, telling her players exactly what she needed.

"She needs to continue to get more and more experience, and she's doing that every single game. We love having her back there, and it's just controlling what she can," Hagen said. "We want her to be louder every game, and that's kind of the coaching that we gave her today is to control her box. I thought her distribution was pretty good, which is great and for her, she's getting better and better."

Better and better is what Hagen saw from her Rams team. Gonzaga began to shift the tone, creating lots of opportunities in the final 20 minutes, but CSU stayed strong.

The Rams showed exactly what it means to be a second half team, and like the guiding words of Hagen, the first and last five minutes of the game are the most important.

Or in this case, 10.

A long kick soared across the Fort Collins sky and met the foot of Dionne who took off running. In a quick side-by-side foot race with a Bulldog defender, Dionne had one option available to her, one she knew would meet Ava Wallhead and like a prophecy being fulfilled, Wallhead successfully headed the ball in, determining Gonzaga's fate and sealing the game.

Thursday, the Rams became a clutch, second-half team as they finished off the game resilient and determined.

"On that play, I knew I had one touch before it's going to go out. So I'm like, 'I know I'm going to get this ball in the air. It's going to go back post.' I knew that's where I was going to go because I only had one touch until it was going to go out," Dionne said. "I'm hoping it goes. I'm hoping Ava's running there. I'm going to get it there and see what happens. And she was there. So it worked out really well."

Communication and trust are the pillars for the team, with Wallhead and Dionne being an example of such.

Knowing the teammate running with you is crucial, where they are and what they need. That was all this pair needed for success, and it showed out on the field.

"I already know Kaja … She's so fast, she's going to be the player. Just being there, knowing that she's going to get the ball across, I trust her so much," Wallhead said. "I'd been working on headers all practice, so we were like, 'OK, let's just do it, let's see where it goes.' So, yeah, I was really excited about that."

The Rams know a thing or two about closing out a game, with all of their wins coming off second-half goals.

Wallhead knows this better than anyone, with her game-ending tally against Denver earlier in the season. Now she adds one more to her first-year stats, tying Mia Casey at three with the most goals scored this season.

"She's a goal scorer. She finds herself in the right places at the right time, and that's what a goal scorer does, no matter what, if she's a freshman or not," Hagen said. "I'm really proud of her and just keep working, and she keeps getting better."

Another Ram adding to the records is Dionne, who advanced in the books at third in all-time assists at CSU. Adding her ninth today, she trails Casey, who has 12.

The Rams now have three games under their belt in conference play, finally with another win at home. With downs also come ups, and the Rams know that there is still much fight to be had.

"This definitely propelled us. We've been going up, going down, but with this game, the Gonzaga win, I'd say it's propelling us because we already know what we have to do," Dionne said. "Every game we talk about the basics, we know we have to do this, this and this. Now we know we can compete in the Pac-12. We're going to put it away. It's just consistency."

To become a consistent second-half team, they know what they need to do and now intend to take that energy into the second half of the schedule.

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Mia Casey

Kaja Dionne

Addison Huber

Ava Wallhead

Ava Wallhead

Kaja Dionne

Shadia Valenzuela

Breckyn Ferrell

Players Mentioned

Mia Casey

Kaja Dionne

Addison Huber

Ava Wallhead

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