Roos Battle in Loss to Denver

Sunday, April 11

Kansas City, Mo.

1:00 PM

Kansas City

4-12-1, 4-11-1

Denver

14-2-1, 14-1-1

Team	1	2	Final F
Denver	0	1	1
Kansas City	0	0	0

Photo by: Ryan Weaver Photography

Roos Battle in Loss to Denver

4/11/2021 3:29:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score Final Box

Kylie Cushing logged three shots for the Roos in the Senior Day match

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Kansas City Women's Soccer battled for the full 90 minutes against conference-leading Denver once again on Sunday afternoon, but fell to the Pioneers in a 1-0 decision.

"I'm incredibly proud of our team," Head Coach Jess Smith said. "The conditions were warm today and the way that we asked them to defend was really taxing, but they stayed with the game plan the whole time and never let down. I'm really, really proud of the team."

The teams battled to a scoreless tie through the first 45 minutes, with the Roos preventing Denver from finding the back of the net thanks to four saves by freshman keeper Mackenzie Caldwell. Kansas City managed three shots on the half, all posted by Kylie Cushing. Cushing put one on frame, but Denver's keeper made a finger-tip save to keep it out of the goal.

The second half was a grind as well, with both teams duking it out for the first 20 minutes. Finally, in the 64th minute, the Pioneers found the back of the net on a header in the box for the game-winning goal. The Roos continued to push forward and look for opportunities, but Denver's stout defense prevented any real chances.

Following the match, the Roos honored seniors Shelby Christopherson, Ruth Fiander and Hayden Burnett for their dedication to the program.

"The three women that were seniors in our program this year made an incredible mark on the program," Smith said. "Each of them has faced a lot of adversity and they all played their roles to the best of their abilities and really impacted us in a positive way. We're really going to miss them."

The game marks the end of Smith's first season at the reins for the Roos, which finish the year 4-12-1. The record does not do the team justice, as they pushed six matches into extra time and had six of their losses come by a one-goal margin. Thirteen freshmen suited up for the Roos on the year, a sign of strength to come in the upcoming seasons.

"We had a lot of really positive moments and a lot of moments where we grew," Smith said. "I really like the way that we ended this weekend, it's going to set us up for the fall season. We have some really positive pieces that we'll continue developing and I'm excited to get back on the field in August."