Grizzlies cap off season with 2-1 victory over Lopers at Murphy Field

Season-high crowd on hand for Senior Day & Parent's Day

ALAMOSA - The Adams State women's soccer closed out its 2010 season on Sunday afternoon in front of its largest crowd of the year Murphy Field, where the Grizzlies scored a pair of second half goals, sending seniors Bry Aiken (Lawrence, Kan.) and Theresa Zackary (Salina, Kan.) out with a win in their final collegiate match, topping Nebraska-Kearney 2-1.

With the victory, the Grizzlies finish the season with a 5-12-1 overall record, including a mark of 4-9-1 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) play, netting them 13 points, good for a seventh-place finish in the league. The Lopers end the season with a 6-9-3 record and 3-8-3 in RMAC play, good for an eighth-place league finish.

On Senior Day and Parent's Day at Murphy Field, 175 Adams State supporters were on hand, including 34 ASC parents who, along with Aiken and Zackary, were recognized during a pre-game presentation on the field.

A slow first half saw the Grizzlies and Lopers enter the break scoreless, as the teams combined for just 10 shots, two on goal in the first 45 minutes.

The first score of the contest came at 58 minutes and one second, as sisters Kaylee Smith (Platte City, Mo.) and Whitney Smith (Platte City, Mo.) hooked up to put the Grizzlies on top, 1-0. Sophomore Kaylee Smith placed a corner kick right into the box where freshman Whitney Smith finished off the set piece, giving the Grizzlies their goal off a corner kick the season and scoring her second goal of the season and first since the Grizzlies season-opening win on Sept. 3.

Less than 15 minutes ticked off the clock before junior Jessica Hellweg (Island Lake, Ill.) doubled the ASC advantage. Sophomore Alyssa Smith (Longmont, Colo.) ensured that all three Smiths tallied points for the Grizzlies, placing a bouncing ball into the box that Hellweg placed into the back of the net on a leaping header. Hellweg paid a price, leaving the game temporarily with a bloody nose, but got moved even with junior Amber Drumm (Maple Valley, Wash.) for the team-lead in goals with six on the season. Six goals on the season is Drumm's season-high, and ties Hellweg's season-best mark, as she scored six goals last season also. The goal was also Hellweg's third game-winner of the season, which ties for second, and the fifth of her career which ties for all-time Adams State lead.

The Grizzlies were just seconds away from notching their second shutout of the season, but the Lopers' Raliegh Mercer tapped in a crossing pass from Becka Talcott, scoring her fifth goal of the season with only 20 seconds remaining in the match, and making the final score 2-1 in favor of Adams State. 

Junior Oralia Gutierrez (Kearns, Utah) was in the net for the second half, making three saves and allowing one goal, and recorded the victory to move to 2-1 on the season. Aiken started her first career game in the net, making one save and allowing no goals in the first half. She ends her ASC career without having allowed a goal. The Grizzlies also made one team save in the game.

Kaylee Smith's four shots led the way for the Grizzlies, while junior Erika Bendele (Lakewood, Colo.) accounted for three with two on target. Sophomore Jenna Iwaniec (Culver, Ind.) and freshman Alex Sanderson (Littleton, Colo.) each fired off two shots as well.

ASC's victory over the Lopers moves the Grizzlies to 3-0 in the all-time series, after having won both previous matches during the 2009 season.

Four league victories match head coach Tom Cliff's season best, and five wins is the second highest mark in Cliff's four-year ASC coaching career. Four victories at Murphy Field is also the most under Cliff, and is tied for third most for Adams State.

As a team, the Grizzlies end the season ranked fourth in the RMAC with 114 saves, while freshman keepr Hannah Kohlts (Littleton, Colo.) ranks second individually with 87 saves and her 5.44 saves per game ranks fourth. Hellweg's three game-winning goals ties her for fifth in the league, while she and Drumm are both tied for 12th in the RMAC with six goals.