The Bison Women’s Soccer Team started off the season on the road with a trip to Colorado College. 

Coming off a Patriot League Championship, the Bison looked to set the tone early on in the season.

“Last year we proved everyone wrong when we were placed 9th overall and ended up winning the Patriot League Championship,” Jenna Hall ’24 said. “This year, teams are going to be extra competitive when playing us because they know we have the potential to be good again.”

The first half was an evenly fought match. Bison goalkeeper Kaylee Donnelly ’23 kept the game scoreless. Around the 38th minute Reese Evans ’25 scored her first career goal to put the Bison up 1-0.

Early on in the second half Abby Gearhart ’23 was able to steal the ball from a Tiger defender and make her way to the goal. Before she could get the ball in the net, the Tiger defense stopped her breakaway. The Tiger’s followed this play with a header off a corner kick to tie the game.

A similar play occurred around the 72nd minute when Teresa Deda ’25 forced the opposing goalkeeper to make a difficult save. The Tigers responded with yet another goal, putting them up 2-1 for the rest of the game. 

Both teams managed 16 shots over the course of the game. Donnelly ended the game with seven impressive saves.

The Bison made their comeback Sunday afternoon in a full team effort against Air Force. Despite pauses for lightning early on in the first half, the Bison remained unfazed.

“At the start of the game the entire team was extremely pumped up and ready to compete,” Hall said. “We knew it was going to take a lot of teamwork, communication and grit to beat Air Force, but we did not want to leave Colorado without a win.” 

After almost two hours of delayed play, the Bison returned to the field with only a couple chances on goal from Rylee Donaldson ’23 and Deda. 

The Orange and Blue’s goal came from strong pressure and speed from Donaldson, who was able to pick off a long ball and draw a foul. Paige Temple ’25 took the free kick and managed to get the ball over the heads of Air Force defenders and into the back of the net. The Bison finished Sunday’s game with 12 shots on goal and four corner kicks.

On the defensive side, Hall had two saves in the final minutes of the game to hold onto the lead. In addition, defenders Olivia DeConinck ’25, Leanne Engemann ’23, and Sydney Hess ’26 led the defense.

The Orange and Blue look to improve their record of 2-0-1 this Thursday night at home against Binghamton.