Another week is now in the books for Colorado State University-Pueblo Athletics and all-in-all, the week was a resounding success.
Pack sports accumulated five wins and three losses across the five team sports programs over the past week, not including the 3rd place finishes for the men’s and women’s cross country teams in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Championships.
It was the Pack’s second best weekly record so far this fall, the highlights of which, came from a record-setting day by senior quarterback Rex Dausin for CSU-Pueblo football, an undefeated week for women’s soccer that set a program-record winning streak, and a pair of strong finishes for the Pack’s cross-country teams.
All of the week’s games took place over a three-day span, with the first game of the week coming Friday evening and the last coming Sunday night.
So let’s see what went down over the three-day weekend for another exciting week in Pack sports.
The ThunderWolves’ women’s soccer team tied a program record with their seventh straight victory on Friday, Oct. 21, with a 2-0 win over Colorado Mesa at the Art & Lorraine Gonzalez Soccer Stadium in Pueblo.
Both goals came during a five-minute stretch of the first half, as a Danelle Dodelinger goal in the 24th minute, followed by a Laikyn Koss goal in the 28th, would be all the Pack needed to hold onto the win.
The tying of the program record with their seventh straight win was an impressive feat for the ladies and would certainly be a tough mark to top—until they did, just two nights later.
Sunday, the Pack took on Westminster College in a closely contested game, once again taking place on their home turf.
The back and forth match had a breakthrough for the Pack late in the game, as sophomore Briana Garcia scored her very first goal of the season in the 70th minute of the match to give the Pack the edge they needed to get the win, and the program record.
The record breaks the previous mark of seven wins set back in 2007 and brings the Pack’s record to 11-3 on the year, with an outstanding 8-2 record against conference foes. The ladies will look to add another victory to the record streak next Friday against the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, followed by a Sunday matchup against Western State to wrap up their regular season.
Record six touchdowns by Dausin leads pack to blowout victory against Fort Lewis
W, 49-14 at Black Hills State, Oct. 22
The Pack’s women’s soccer team wasn’t the only one to set a program record over the weekend, as senior quarterback Rex Dausin set a program-best of his own in the ThunderWolves’ 49-14 domination of Black Hills State on Saturday.
Dausin went 14-for-19 for 169 yards through the air to go with his six touchdowns, besting the previous program record of five, set by two players, Chris Bonner in 2013, and coincidentally, Rex’s older brother Ross in 2012.
The Pack totaled 181 yards passing and 275 rushing in the contest for a combined 49 points, a score more than enough for the victory considering the commanding play of the CSU-Pueblo defense.
The Pack created two turnovers in the game and held Black Hills State to just 166 yards passing and a dismal 38 yards on the ground.
The Pack now finds themselves in the midst of a three-game winning streak, with a 5-3 record and 5-2 record in the RMAC.
The team’s next showing comes Saturday against Western State University on the road in Gunnison, to take on the 6-2 Mountaineers.
Cross-country men and women’s teams both finish 3rd at RMAC Championships
M: 3/15 W: 3/15
In the annual RMAC Championship held in Spearfish, S.D., the Pack’s men’s and women’s cross country teams both managed a third-place finish in a field of 15 teams.
The women’s team was led by junior Miriam Roberts, who finished fifth overall with a time of 22:45.75 and earned All-RMAC First Team honors. Senior Jordan Mathes also was a first team member and ran a 23:00.46 to finish eighth.
For the men’s team, the Pack’s top finisher was sophomore Marcelo Laguera who finished seventh in the meet with an individual time of 25:41.85. Junior Derrick Williams finished 13th with a time of 25:55.89, as he and Laguera were both named All-RMAC First Team members.
The cross-country teams will now gear up to tackle the course at the NCAA Division II South Central Region Championships, set for Nov. 5 at Washington Park in Denver, Colo.
Men’s Soccer gets win against South Dakota Mines, then gets blown out by Regis
W, 3-2 at South Dakota Mines, Oct. 21
L, 8-0 at No. 11 Regis, Oct. 23
It was a tale of two games for the ThunderWolves’ men’s soccer team, as the team put forth a three-goal performance on Friday in a win against South Dakota Mines on the road, but was then blown away on Sunday in a loss to the No. 11 ranked Regis University Rangers.
Friday’s game saw the Pack develop a 3-0 lead in the first 73 minutes, coming on goals by Jose Batista, Cesar Zamudio and Aaron Strunk, respectively, only to concede two quick goals to the Hardrockers in a five-minute span to put South Dakota Mines right back in the match.
The Hardrocker’s two goals came on the Pack’s backup freshman goalkeeper Chandler Syrett, who came into the game in relief of starter Erich Frey and made one save and allowed the two goals. Five minutes later, Frey came back onto the pitch and closed the game out to ensure the Pack win.
In their next game on Sunday against No. 11 ranked Regis, the Pack was simply outmatched, being blown out by an 8-0 margin.
The Pack allowed six different players to score in the loss, bringing their record to 7-9, with a 5-7 record in the RMAC. Their last two games will come next Friday and Sunday, taking on Colorado School of Mines followed by Colorado Christian, both on the road.
Women’s volleyball rebounds from loss against Regis with win against Chadron State
L, 3-1 vs. Regis, Oct. 21
W, 3-2 vs. Chadron State, Oct. 22
CSU-Pueblo volleyball had two games in two days on Friday and Saturday, taking on the Regis Rangers and the Chadron State Eagles on consecutive days at Massari Arena in Pueblo.
In their game against Regis on Friday, the Pack dropped a hard-fought four-set matchup against the No. 4 ranked team in the RMAC.
In their Saturday game, the Pack overcame a two-set deficit against the Eagles to fight their way back into the match and emerge victorious with a 3-2 win, putting an end to their three-game losing streak and gaining a much needed in-conference win.
It was a pivotal win for CSU-Pueblo, as the victory now places them in a tie for the sixth and final spot in the RMAC Tournament with only six games left to play.
The ThunderWolves will now head back on the road this week with matchups against Adams State University and Fort Lewis College on Friday and Saturday.
Swimming & diving team wins four events in loss to Division I Aggies
L, 187-99 at New Mexico State, Oct. 22
In a head-to-head matchup against the Division I New Mexico State Aggies, the CSU-Pueblo swimming and diving team dropped a 187-99 loss despite winning four of the events individual events.
Freshman Phoebe Pontious won her second individual event in as many weeks with a victory in the 100m butterfly, to go along with a first-place finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay alongside teammates Angie Randall, Taylor Wertz, and April McDonough.
Sophomore Arianna Rohde took home her first win of the young season in the 200 individual medley, while sophomore Stefany Busch nabbed the first win of the year for the diving team with her top finish in the one-meter diving competition.
The four wins would not be nearly enough for the Pack, however, as New Mexico State almost doubled the Pack’s total number of points.
The ThunderWolves will look to get on track and bring home their first win of the season when they visit Colorado School of Mines Nov. 4 on the road.
Edited by: Theresa Wolf
