In a footwork-focused game, Colorado State tied 1-1 with last seasons’ conference championship opponent, Utah State.

Sunday’s game celebrated both Senior Day to honor nine of their senior players, who were recognized at the end of the match, as well as Pack the Pitch. 

The Rams came into this game with a vengeance after their championship loss to USU, but the Aggies’ persistent aggression and intricate footwork stopped CSU from fully satisfying its desire for revenge. 

Following USU’s goal in the 18th minute by Tess Werts, Colorado State’s offense was able to use that as motivation to score its only goal in the 29th minute off the right foot of midfielder Avery Vander Ven with an assist by Mia Casey.

“I felt really good to even the score, especially going into halftime,” Vander Ven said. “I think we would have loved to come out with a win, but still coming away with the point is something we’re proud of.” 

As the lone goal scorer of the game, Vander Ven now has two goals scored this season, and Casey has tallied five assists on the season already.

Throughout the entire match, the Rams struggled to formulate and execute plans; from miscues, little communication and passing the ball to no one clear, CSU’s offense struggled to take off. 

Players would consistently run the ball downfield with no one else nearby to pass it to, wasting opportune chances to take a shot on the goal. 

“Today, I just think we weren’t fully ourselves, and that’s credit to Utah State,” coach Keeley Hagen said. “We also made some errant passes that we don’t normally make, but I thought we did better in the second half, which was good to see.”

Communication was able to pick up for the Rams in the second half, with the ball continuously moving up and down the field, as well as improved passing and offensive footwork.

Exiting halftime with the score tied, the pressure was on for CSU’s Libby Brooker and USU’s Cora Brendle to stop their opponent from gaining an advantage.

With monumental saves throughout the match, Brooker continues to prove herself as a valuable addition to the Rams.

The Aggies’ aggressive play drew goalie Brooker out from between her goal posts to shut down shots early.

“It’s between the defense and the goalie, and it’s just an awkward thing to time, because I’d rather come forward than my defense coming toward the goal,” Brooker said. “You got to do what you got to do and I was just prepared for that coming into this game.”

Despite one goal allowed in the first half, Brooker’s introduction to this rivalry was an active one, with 16 shots on her goal as she made it her mission to shut those attempts down by hustling out of the goal to capture the ball as soon as possible.

While not satiated from this tie, Sunday’s rematch has proved that this season’s Ram are standing strong and ready to face off with those standing in their path to the conference championship.

In the aftermath of this draw, CSU remains undefeated in the conference (8-3-3, 4-0-2 MW) and will go on to play UNLV (6-6-2, 4-1-1 MW) at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 17 in Las Vegas.

Reach Sophia Schaller at sports@collegian.com, or on Twitter @sophschaller.

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