Three-headed monster creating nightmares for opponents

Friday, September 8

Greeley, Colo.

7:00 pm

University of Northern Colorado

North Dakota State University

Photo by: Dean Popejoy

9/6/2017 1:02:00 PM | Women's Soccer

By: By Zak Gilbert

GREELEY, Colo. – If you're a UNC opponent, you've had three options on your menu this season.

Venom, arsenic or ricin?

Or, to translate those poisons into soccer terms, Mariel Gutierrez, Maddie Roberts or Brooke Braden?

Those three, who have robbed opposing coaches of a lot of REM sleep in 2017, lead the Bears (5-1-0) into another weekend of competition. UNC hosts North Dakota State in a 7 p.m. match Friday night at Jackson Stadium (free admission), then heads north 113 miles to meet Wyoming at 1 p.m. Sunday.

For Bears head coach Tim Barrera, that trio has served as a pleasant storyline.

"We've gotten great production out of those three," he said. "One of them has scored in every game."

Goals aren't the group's only production, either. In UNC's 3-1 win over New Hampshire Friday, Braden's game-winner came on a double-assist, from Gutierrez to Roberts.

"It was boom, boom, boom," Barrera said.

Then on Sunday, in the 4-1 victory over New Mexico State, Braden posted assists on the Bears' first two goals. Roberts then assisted on the third goal, and scored the final tally.

And guess who assisted Roberts on that final goal?

"Mariel was man-marked," Barrera said of the junior co-captain. "New Mexico State saw her as such a threat that they put somebody on her and chased her around the whole game, which we don't see much at this level. But that's the respect she's gotten from opponents."

Each of the three players has three goals. Roberts leads the Bears with 10 points (three goals, four assists), followed by Gutierrez with nine (three goals, three assists) and Braden with eight (three goals, two assists).

"We have good athletes and we're going to approach games aggressively," Barrera said, "and see where we go from there."

Young and the restless
Some of those good athletes are new to the Bears program, while some are familiar faces that have worked hard to earn first-time starting roles. That recipe, along with senior co-captain Madeline Burdick in goal and Gutierrez, Roberts and Braden, has given the Bears their best start since 1998, when they opened 6-0.

"It's been a fun group to work with," Barrera said. "We've got a lot of new faces that we're integrating in, and we've got quite a few older players who are playing well."

Barrera mentioned senior defender Erica Estes, central in the Bears allowing only 0.83 goals per game, and senior forward Aleah Strength, who scored a nice goal Sunday vs. the Aggies, as former reserve players who have seized their starting opportunities.

Younger players like Anika Shelrud, Kylee Duren and Olivia Seddon, Barrera said, have also fit well into starting cleats.

"What I'm happiest about," Barrera said, "is that we're getting good performances up and down the roster. That'll help us when we go further into the year."

Burdick honored by conference
The Bears' senior goalkeeper from San Diego earned the Big Sky Conference's Defensive Player of the Week, the league announced Wednesday. With 10 saves over the weekend, including an overtime shutout against New Hampshire on Friday, Burdick now ranks second in the Big Sky with 27 saves.

Not taking the bait
Don't be fooled by the North Dakota State's record (0-6-0). Barrera certainly isn't.

"They've played some really close matches and have been a little unlucky. They're a team in a little bit of transition. I know they've graduated some players. They've been at the top of the Summit League for the last couple years. They're a well-coached group that we're certainly not going to overlook."

NDSU has had just one home match, a season-opening loss to North Dakota, and has played a pair of top-25 programs, at Minnesota and at Utah.

"All of their other matches have been really tight," the Bears coach said. "This time of year, you can have a good stretch or a bad stretch. They've been on the road quite a bit. So, we're definitely not looking past them."

What's more, fresh in the Bears' minds is a 2-1 loss to the Bison at Jackson Stadium the last time the teams met, Aug. 31, 2014. In that contest, the Bears out-shot NDSU, 12-7, but still lost. The Bears and Bison square off at 7 p.m. Friday at Jackson Field. Admission is free.

It's pronounced DARR-bee
UNC soccer fans can impress their friends by correctly pronouncing the name of the traveling trophy in the Bears' rivalry with Wyoming: The Front Range Derby.

"Laramie is not too far away," Barrera said. "It's a rivalry game for us. We play them twice a year. We play them in the spring as well, and the games are always close."

Close is also how many of the Wyoming players would describe their Colorado hometowns. And for the Bears' Jacqui Pulley, home is Laramie, Wyo. Plus, Pulley and the Bears haven't been to Laramie during the fall in her career. Their previous matchups with the Cowgirls have been in Cheyenne.

The rivalry developed because the Bears have been the Cowgirls' closest traditional rival. Colorado State University didn't have intercollegiate soccer until recently.

"It's always a big game, but we'll certainly be thinking about North Dakota State first," Barrera said.

UNC and Wyoming (2-2-1) meet at the Madrid Sports Complex Sunday at 1 p.m.

Bookend mentality
Barrera also has been pleased with his team's focus leaving the locker room, and capitalizing on opportunities just before intermission, or just before the final gun.

"One of the things we talk about is making sure we're good at the beginning and the end of halves."

On Sunday against NMSU, the Bears scored just into the game and just before half. Then, UNC scored just into the second half and just before the end of regulation.

By no means are the Bears satisfied, though. There's still a lot of room for improvement.

"If we do get into a situation where we're in front," Barrera said, "we need to do a better job of managing the game, not giving up late goals. We've given up a couple of those. It hasn't really hurt us yet, but it makes it a little tighter at the end of the match."