Game Breakdown
First Quarter
Westminster wasted no time setting the tone in Denver, jumping out to a 5-2 lead after the opening quarter. Shaina Shoughro got things started just under two minutes in, converting on a man-up opportunity unassisted at 13:04. Grace Szwedko followed with a free-position goal at 11:26 to push the advantage to two before UCCS answered with a man-up free-position goal from Sofia Watts to make it 2-1. Shoughro struck again at 6:31, this time assisted by Holly Shoughro, pushing the lead back to two. Charlotte Fannin cut it to one for the Mountain Lions, but the Griffins responded with back-to-back scores — Olivia Petrosky from Lilliana Montano at 3:16, and Holly Shoughro off a Jadyn Kohan assist at 2:30 — to close the quarter with a commanding 5-2 edge.
Second Quarter
UCCS opened the second period with a quick score from Allison Hoffman to trim the deficit to 5-3, but Westminster answered immediately. Shaina Shoughro tallied her third goal of the game off a Holly Shoughro assist at 11:04, and Petrosky added her second unassisted just over a minute later to push the lead to 7-3. The Mountain Lions rallied late with Sofia Watts cutting it to 7-4, before Jordan Williamson's unassisted goal at 2:02 pushed the lead back to four at 8-4. Ella Mills added a late score for UCCS, but Westminster still headed into the half with a comfortable 8-5 advantage.
Third Quarter
Petrosky opened the third period with a goal just 35 seconds in to push the lead to 9-5. UCCS responded with back-to-back goals from Josie Leonard and Ella Mills to cut it to 9-7, but Holly Shoughro answered at 7:00 to push the lead back to three at 10-7. The Mountain Lions closed the period with a man-up goal from Sofia Watts, trimming the deficit to 10-8 heading into the fourth.
Fourth Quarter
Westminster closed it out in the fourth. Holly Shoughro opened the scoring with a man-up goal off a Shaina Shoughro assist at 12:31, and Petrosky added a free-position goal at 11:00 to push the lead to 12-8. UCCS battled back to 12-9, but Petrosky's fifth goal of the game at 5:43, assisted by Jordan Williamson, sealed the 13-10 victory. A late free-position goal from Brielle Fannin closed the final margin, but the Griffins held on to advance to the RMAC Championship.
Griffin Performances
Olivia Petrosky led all scorers with five goals on eight shots, adding one ground ball.
Holly Shoughro recorded three goals and two assists to go along with four shots and four ground balls.
Shaina Shoughro finished with three goals and one assist, posting six shots and one ground ball.
Jordan Williamson contributed one goal and one assist with seven shots and two ground balls.
Grace Szwedko added one goal on three shots, picking up four ground balls and one draw control.
Kaelyn Hart made 11 saves in goal over the full 60 minutes.
As a team, Westminster outshot UCCS 30-23, held a 21-18 ground ball advantage, and forced 21 UCCS turnovers compared to 15 of their own. UCCS held a 15-10 edge in draw controls.
Up Next
The Griffins, advance to the RMAC Championship on Saturday against #1 Regis at 4:00 p.m. The two teams split the regular season series, setting up a winner-take-all rematch for the conference title.
