Missouri Western dropped their home opener of the 2023 season in a highly competitive game against no. 8 Regis, where they lost 11-7. This brought Missouri Western’s record to 1-2 on the year.
This was not the Griffon’s first time facing a top-10 opponent. The Griffons played No. 10 Grand Valley State last year and lost by a score of 13-4.
The Griffons were not going to let history repeat itself. They started the game hot thanks to two goals from senior Karlin York and graduate student Jordan Coulon.
The 2-0 lead for the Griffons did not last long. Regis responded with back-to-back goals to even the score at 2-2.
After one quarter of play, the Griffons hung with the Rangers with a score of 3-3.
The second quarter contained lots of defense as the Griffons offense went cold. The Rangers shot in three goals, overcoming the Griffons one goal in the second quarter. The score going into halftime was 6-4 in favor of the Rangers.
After halftime, Missouri Western came out firing. York scored her fourth goal of the game and Missouri Western was down 7-6 early in the third quarter.
The close game was due to the stellar defense of the Griffons. Senior Mackenzie Porter recorded 16 saves at the Goalkeeper position. That is a season high for Porter.
“[Porter] is a huge vocal key, she helps defense so much by just talking and she sees the field better than everyone,” said head coach Jessica Berg.
Porter was dynamite. She also set a new Griffon single-game record of ground balls with 12. Her heroic effort was not enough for the Griffons. The Rangers went on a 4-0 run to start the fourth quarter, which eventually put the Griffons away.
The turnovers for the Griffons killed them. They had 25 because the Rangers forced 20 turnovers, which eventually led to the Rangers winning 11-7.
Missouri Western has a quick turn around and has plans to defend their own turf. They play Colorado-Colorado Springs who is currently 0-3.
“Mentality on the field is a huge key point, knowing that we can stick with the number eight team,” said Berg.
The mentality will be a game changer for the Griffons. They will continue this mentality in their next game, which will be held at Spratt Stadium on Sunday, March 5 at 1 p.m against the Mountain Lions of Colorado-Colorado Springs.
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