AMES, Iowa – The Colorado Buffaloes (9-1-0, 3-0-0) played their third Big 12 game of the season on Sunday, at the Iowa State Cyclones (3-5-2, 1-1-0).
The black and gold scored a late goal to beat Iowa State and extend their win streak to eight games.
The Buffs controlled the game in the first half, taking 18 shots, nine of which forced the Cyclones’ goalkeeper, Grace Gordon, to stand in the way. Oppositely, Iowa State only had one shot (not on goal) in the first 45 minutes making goalkeeper Jordan Nytes’ job easy.
Despite not scoring on such a high volume of shots for the Buffs, the team was still confident heading into the half-tied.
The second half was much of the same until three Colorado midfielders combined to break the tie in the 74th minute.
The goal started with a centering pass from Laura Gouvin to Mallory Allen, who was 10 yards beyond the box. Allen found Emerson Layne at the top of the box drifting towards her right. Layne took a touch and a dribble, which allowed her to create an angle for the shot. Gouvin and Allen were both credited with an assist.
The low-scoring game ended with the Buffs on top 1-0. It has not been unusual to see opponents go scoreless when facing Nytes and company. However, the surprising part was that Nytes didn’t save a single shot in the full 90 minutes.
The Colorado defense held the Cyclones to four shots, none on goal, both of which were season lows for the black and gold.
Nytes has been playing almost flawlessly for the Buffs this season, only giving up one goal in the last eight games.
All of Colorado’s conference games have been on the road thus far. Now, the Buffs travel back home for their home conference opener against the Baylor Bears at Prentup Field on Thursday at 7 p.m. MT (ESPN+). This game will begin a three-game home stretch for Colorado.
Cover photo by CU Athletics/CUBuffs.com
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