Colorado State soccer continued its conference game winning streak in its first conference home game, defeating San Jose State 2-0.
CSU played persistently when faced with the unrelenting coverage of SJSU, a persistence which paid off in the second half of the game.
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In the first half, the Rams struggled to execute plays, as they overshot passes and goal attempts, and failed to properly communicate on a few plays.
Yet Katy Coffin saw an active first half with three-shot attempts and good possession time despite intense coverage.
Right by her side was Maggie Altman, with three shots under heavy cover, and Olivia Fout, who consistently moved the ball upfield despite the persistence of SJSU’s Kennedy Mayo.
Following the first half, CSU struggled to take advantage of its 10 shots against SJSU with shots consistently sailing over the bar. But once the second half began, the Rams were able to rally together and double those shots within 30 minutes.
“I think obviously we needed a reset at halftime,” coach Keeley Hagen said “It’s just good to see the response of our team to being coachable and knowing that we could have done a lot better the first half. We just flushed it and wanted to go forward and play our style, and we did that.”
As a result of this second-half spark, the Rams were also able to score twice, both with an assist from midfielder Mia Casey. The first goal was scored by Liv Stutzman in the 61st minute in the top right of the goal as CSU’s high shooting finally paid off.
“I think we’ve just had time to mesh and become kind of more of a functional fluid unit, and we’re just building on that every game,” Stutzman said. “Being able to connect the second half — being more cohesive was definitely helpful.”
Stutzman now has three goals this season so far, catching up fast with last season’s total of five.
Alongside Stutzman in today’s goals was Altman in the 82nd minute with a shot in the bottom right of the goal after failing seven shots throughout the game.
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During the entirety of the game, the Rams dominated possession as much of the game took place near SJSU’s goal due to good ball control and movement up and down the field.
However, when the ball did make its way to CSU’s goal, first year goalkeeper Libby Brooker shut down every attempt.
In her first start, Brooker dominated the goal area and ensured good communication with her teammates — even at a distance. With a total of eight saves and no goals allowed, she started her career clean, and displayed great promise for her first season at CSU.
“Getting my first college start today, definitely had some nerves going into the game,” Brooker said. “But we’ve got such a great team culture that everyone just helped calm my nerves and made my job really easy today.”
Following this win, CSU’s (7-3-1, 3-0-0 MW) next three conference games will be at home, with the next against Fresno State (5-4-2, 0-2-1 MW) at 12 p.m. on Oct. 6.
Reach Sophia Schaller at sports@collegian.com, or on Twitter/X @sophschaller.
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