Kansas City looked stifled on both sides of the field in Friday’s 6-1 loss against Denver.
The Roos’ defense tripped up within the first two minutes, and Denver was poised to score in an instant. Luckily, sophomore goalie Mackenzie Caldwell made a crucial save to prevent an early score.
Then, the floodgates opened.
Before the 20th minute, Denver attempted three consecutive shots. Fortunately, all of the shots were off target.
However, the Roos allowed their first goal of the match by the 22nd minute. They kept it 1-0 until the 40th minute, when back-to-back-to-back Denver goals disheartened the team and widened the score. Once the referee whistled for halftime, the match sat at a devastating 4-0.
The rest of the match seemed to look the same. Two more goals, including a close hat trick by Denver sophomore forward Mckenna Dannenhauer, would end any comeback opportunities for Kansas City.
Meanwhile, the offense had no chance of tying it up. As each minute passed, the Denver defense was glued to the Roos forwards. It was not until the last couple of minutes that the Roos managed to put up their only point, coming on a shot from senior forward Emily Jensen to prevent the shutout.
Once a strength for this team, Kansas City’s defense had one of its worst performances in weeks. However, look for them to bounce back and learn from their mistakes. On the other hand, this Roos offense needs to step it up. While they played a terrific Denver team, it’s just unacceptable to put up one measly goal. This team must continue working on their play-making abilities and play aggressively to win any kind of contest.
Kansas City falls to 4-11 on the season, and they will look to add more wins at home against the likes of Western Illinois on Oct. 22 at 7 p.m., and St. Thomas on Oct. 24 at 1 p.m.
