GREAT FALLS, Mont. – Argos soccer played 87 and a half minutes of excellent soccer. That proved to be plenty for the team to continue its four game winning streak with a 3-1 victory over fifteenth ranked Rocky Mountain College.
"Today was a great result for the team," head coach Joseph Yeisley said. "The guys really stepped up and performed at a high level against a very good Rocky Mountain team."
The first few minutes were controlled largely by RMC and the Battlin' Bears wasted little time getting on the scoreboard. A strong shot in the second minute from just outside the penalty box was deflected up by UGF keeper Marc Girones but he was only able to get it high enough to bounce off the crossbar. The ball deflected off the pipe and back into the box where a Rocky player was waiting to finish the job.
After the goal, the Argos squad gained the energy of desperation and never looked back. UGF began to maintain possession and the game quickly became physical and foul heavy. One of those fouls in the twenty-first minute gave UGF a free kick from the left side of the field and about 35 yards out. Senior midfielder Anderson Cardoso's shot dipped into the six-yard box and somehow found its way through a tangle of legs, past the opposing keeper, and into the net for the equalizing goal.
Five minutes later, Luis Torres was played deep into the right corner. The senior found enough space to put in a ball across the face of the net and found Jordan Byland unmarked at the far post. Byland took an easy touch into an open net to put UGF up 2-1.
"We conceded an early goal, which was tough," Yeisley said. "However, I was really proud of how the guys responded to the adversity and were able to grab the lead before the end of the first half."
The half continued fairly evenly, and physically from there with the Argos outshooting the Bears 9-6 heading into the break.
Great Falls took the field to start the second half against a new keeper for RMC and struck immediately. The opening ball from UGF was played into the middle of the field about 30 yards from the Rocky Mountain net and a moment of indecision from the Rocky defenders allowed senior midfielder Jon-Eric Krans to slice in at top speed, split the two defenders and beat the keeper. The goal took just 15 seconds and gave UGF a seemingly comfortable 3-1 lead.
As comfortable as the lead seemed, history suggested the Argos had no room to relax having already blown a 3-1 lead in a 6-5 overtime loss to the same team earlier in the year.
This time, the Argos held strong, thanks in large part to Girones. The freshman finished with seven saves, including a crucial one against a charging RMC playing early in the second half, but his impact went beyond that. His aggressive reads on crosses stopped a handful of scoring chances for the Bears before they even happened.
"The guys really executed well down the stretch defensively as RMC looked to press high," Yeisley said. "I thought Marc Girones did a great job in goal and came up with some key saves, as well as took some balls out of the air that really limited their chances."
The win takes a team that was once 1-3 to 5-3 (4-1) on the season and ties them for third in the Cascade Collegiate Conference. The Argos will have a chance to extend that lead and take a tie for second in the CCC with a home contest against the College of Idaho on October 3 at 1:30 pm.
"The win today was a big one for this group, but I think they are also mature enough to understand that we have another tough opponent tomorrow in the College of Idaho. If we want to have a chance to stay in the hunt for the conference championship, then we need to perform well again tomorrow and come away with another three points." Yeisley said.
