Samantha Scott (14, Colorado, left) and Gabriela Pelogi (9, Western, right). // Photo by Kelly Pearce
Hailey PalmerThe Colorado School of Mines women’s soccer team hadn’t given up a goal all season. That is, until Western senior forward Gabriela Pelogi snuck a shot past goalkeeper Shannon Mooney into the far post of the net in the 15th minute of the game.
The No. 15 Vikings beat the No. 7 Colorado School of Mines on Wednesday, Sept. 19, at Robert S. Harrington Field by a score of 2-1.
“I just remember Liv [Larson] passing to me and I’m like, ‘This is it, I gotta get in one,’” Pelogi said.
Freshman forward Dayana Diaz provided the Vikings’ other goal off a penalty kick in the 75th minute of the contest.
The Vikings were outshot by the Orediggers, but it proved to be a nonfactor, as the only goal allowed by Western’s Natalie Dierickx was a shot in the 82nd minute.
Head coach Travis Connell said the way Colorado attacks on offense was a new challenge for Western.
“It’s hard to defend against a team that plays on the counter-attack,” Connell said. “You’re really not defending, and then all of a sudden you have to be defending. It’s one of the more challenging offenses to go against.”
Dierickx was a highlight of Western’s defensive effort with six saves coming off of seven shots on goal by the Orediggers.
Connell said it’s hard to predict how a game is going to unfold, but the Vikings were able to slow down Colorado for most of the game.
“We wanted to limit how fast they could play, and we did that for big chunks of the game,” Connell said.
The win pushed Western’s overall record to 5-2-0. It was the final nonconference game of the season for Western, and it began conference play after publication date on Saturday, Sept. 22, against Simon Fraser University.
