GREAT FALLS, Mont. – The University of Providence women's soccer team fell to Rocky Mountain College 5-1 Saturday afternoon in the first game of Cascade Collegiate Conference Play. 

"Rocky is a phenomenal side, we knew that coming in," head coach Heather Blandford said. "Going into this game, one of the things that we really wanted to focus on was our own effort and controlling the things that we can control. I'm extremely proud of how hard we worked. Was the result what we were hoping for? No. But there's a lot to build on from this game."

Morgan Maack and Halle Labert found the back of the net for the Battlin' Bears (4-1-1, 1-0) in the first half, giving them a 2-0 lead at the break. Labert assisted on the third goal a minute into the second half, finding Amber Pearson for the 3-0 lead. Pearson returned the favor four minutes later, finding Labert for her second goal to make it 4-0.

The Argos (0-4, 0-1) kept clawing, increasing their offensive activity and creating multiple opportunities. One of those opportunities resulted in a goal for Dani Chang, who scored from beyond the box in the 76^th minute. Labert scored her third goal 10 minutes later to solidify the 5-1 win for the Bears. 

The game marks the first game of CCC play for the Argos. The squad will continue conference play next week in Washington, with road games against Northwest and Evergreen State on Sept. 24 and 25, respectively. 

"Our team worked hard today," Blandford said. "We will continue to grow as a team so that when we get our opportunities, we're ready to take advantage. I'm proud of the effort and proud of the grind. We're going to continue to get better if we're willing to put in that kind of work on a daily basis."