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UNC sweeps to tournament title
The Northern Colorado women’s soccer program took a big step forward Sunday, defeating The Citadel 2-1 to win the Air Force Academy Fall Classic.
With both teams playing to a 0-0 score in the first half, the Bulldogs got on the board first after Vanessa Aponte scored on a free kick from 25 yards out, beating ‘keeper Kirstin Salminen in the 53rd minute.
The Bears answered when a Kimmie Fiedler pass found Ariel Cook, who fired the ball into the back of the net in the 61st minute.
As the clock ticked closer to the final whistle, Northern Colorado head coach Tim Barrera substituted Brandi Hopkins to try and create a final scoring chance. Hopkins did her job, getting fouled 25 yards from the goal. Olivia Deadmond sent the resulting free kick toward the head of Cook, who netted the game winner.
With the two goals, Cook now has a team-leading four goals on the year. She was also named to the Classic all-tournament team, along with teammate Laura Wayland.
“Today was a hard-fought match against a very well-organized team,” said Barrera. “(The) Citadel scored on a great free kick, and we had to chase the game for a while, but we got a good transition score from Ariel and really battled.
“I thought that we played with a lot more energy in the second half, which can be attributed to being able to rest so many players in Friday’s game (against Fairleigh Dickinson). It was a great team effort to get the championship.”
With the win, Northern Colorado improves to 4-2 on the season as it gets ready to continue its road swing Friday when it travels to Utah Valley to take on Southern Utah at 3 p.m. On Sunday the Bears face off against Utah Valley.
Weekend Starter: Friday, the Bears dispatched Fairleigh Dickinson 4-0.
Although it took until the 21st minute for the Bears to get on the board with Danielle Birdsall’s third goal of the season, the offense took off from there, posting two more goals before the first half was over.
After Birdsall’s goal, Eryn Daniel struck in the 35th minute, putting the Bears up 2-0. Just eight minutes later, Daniel notched her second goal of the match, this time scoring off a pass from senior Brittani Knott. Northern Colorado got a late second half goal from Wayland to finish up a very productive offensive night.
Northern Colorado dominated possession throughout the game, getting off 19 shots while holding the Knights to just two. ‘Keeper Salminen earned her second shutout of the season.
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