Rally comes up short in opener

A goal by CSU-Pueblo’s Robin Hayes in the 60th minute may have cut Northern University’s 2-0 lead in half, but it wasn’t enough to spark a rally as the ThunderWolves dropped their season opener 2-1.The ThunderWolves were able uncork 23 shots, but failed to find the net on most occasions. Hayes, the Pack’s lone goal-scorer, fired nine shots but only managed to put three on goal.

Northern State, meanwhile, made their chances count, turning only 12 shots into eight shots on goal, driving two past ThunderWolves keeper, Chrissy Mandarich.

“We’re very proud of the effort we put out, and we showed a lot of character after being behind 2-0,” Pack coach Dave Morris said. “We played hard, especially in the last 20 minutes of each half, and we had a chance to win this game.”

Morris, a Washington, D.C. native who most recently was an assistant on a successful women’s soccer team at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, saw his newly implemented system in this first game, and realized the tremendous leaps the team made.

“Tactically, we’re still trying to master a brand new system,” Morris said. “There is a big learning curve there, but it is inspiring to see how far we’ve come in only the past two weeks.”

The T-Wolves’ next game will be on the road at a tournament in Weatherford, Okla., against West Texas A&M on Aug. 31.

Posted in Sports