UNC comes from behind, ties Colorado College

The UNC soccer team climbed out of a two-goal disadvantage to record a 2-2 tie against Colorado College (1-0-2) Friday at Jackson Stadium. 

 

Two second-half goals notched within four minutes of each other, and a clutch sprawling save, were enough to get the University of Northern Colorado (0-2-1) away from its third loss of the young season.

 

Junior forward Brittany Dunn — who scored the first goal to cut the Tigers’ lead in half — said the Bears should be able to glean some confidence from the draw.

 

“I think we’ve been kind of down with the two losses before, so I think it was good that we came back and showed that we can score and we can play with this team,” Dunn said.

 

UNC trailed 1-0 at halftime after a goal by the Tigers’ sophomore forward Jessie Ayers in the 38th minute, and the deficit doubled seven minutes into the second half, as senior forward Brittney Lyman used her head to put the ball in the net.

 

Thirteen minutes later, though, Dunn cut off a Tigers’ pass and motored down the right side, depositing the ball over Colorado College freshman keeper Kate Scheele into the lower left corner from 25 yards out. 

 

The goal brought the Bears within striking distance, and in the 69th minute freshman midfielder Rebecca Lancia found the head of sophomore forward Madison Yoswa on a cross and Yoswa redirected the ball past Scheele.

 

Head coach Tim Barrera said he knew early in the game that Dunn — who recorded five of UNC’s seven shots on goal — had ample energy.

 

“We could tell that Brit was feeling good and was very active out there,” Barrera said. “When she’s active, she can be very good because she’s physical and she’s fast. She has a way of finding the goal.”

 

In the 88th minute, a Colorado College broken play left the ball in an open space just outside the 18-yard box. Ayers took a running start and fired a rocket to the left side of the net. With the game on the line, Bears senior goalkeeper Natalie D’Adamio made a diving save to keep the game tied.

 

“It was almost like one of those out-of-body experiences,” D’Adamio said. “I knew I was going to make the save. It’s hard to describe, but I was confident in myself. I had to make that big save.”

 

The Bears are no strangers to overtime games, having gone past 90 minutes eight times last season, but those high-pressure situations saw four-year starter Kirstin Salminen in the goal. In D’Adamio’s first high-stakes opportunity as the starter, she rose to the occasion.

 

The Bears travel to take on the defending WAC champion, Utah State (3-0-1), at 4 p.m. Friday in Logan, Utah.