LUBBOCK, Texas – The Colorado Buffaloes soccer team (10-2-2, 4-1-2 Big 12) traveled to take on the No. 24 Texas Tech Red Raiders (10-2-2, 5-0-2 Big 12)on Oct. 19. The CU defense bent but didn’t break while the offense failed to keep up, leading to a 1-1 tie in this Big 12 matchup.
Things started off hot as the Red Raiders had two shots on goal in the fourth minute, one from Taylor Zdrojewski and the other from Kaitlyn Giametta, leading to two saves from Colorado goalkeeper Jordan Nytes. CU would respond a little over a minute later with a shot on goal by freshman Jace Holley, who was able to get a clear chance but wasn’t able to get it past Texas Tech goalie Faith Nguyen, who made the save at the bottom left quadrant of the net.
This sequence set the tone for the rest of the game, as the Buffs would end up with four shots on goal while Texas Tech would double that eight. But looking more specifically at the first half, things would continue with not much action.
Ashleigh Williams of the Red Raiders would have a shot on goal in the seventh minute, and Nytes would get another save. After that, it was just a lot of back-and-forth action between the teams.
Despite a couple shots on goal from Colorado, Texas Tech saw many more opportunities to shoot during the first half, forcing Nytes to make a total of six saves, including one to close out the half when Storie Sexton tried sneaking it in the bottom left area of the net but Nytes wouldn’t allow it. That last-minute shot gave the Red Raiders a total of 15 first-half shots compared to CU’s three shots.
The second half would start off great for Texas Tech, as they were able to find the back of the net in just under two minutes of playtime. Millie Elwood and Peyton Parsons showed off their passing skills to earn an assist and put the ball in a great position for Ashleigh Williams to get it just past Nytes.
With Texas Tech up, the Buffs showed some clear frustration, with both Michaela Rosenbaum and Hope Leyba drawing fouls shortly after. Texas Tech would then get called offside, but that wouldn’t stop them from getting three more shots off before the 70th minute.
Things would change after the 70th minute, however, as the Buffs seemed to regain their footing and the momentum. This led to what seemed to be a promising shot by Emerson Layne if it hadn’t been blocked by a Texas defender. The Buffs would not waste the opportunity though, as Ava Priest was able to get the ball back right away and launched the ball into the back of the net in the 73rd minute of the game.
With the game tied and under twenty minutes to go, both teams would show their passion, perhaps to a fault, as Texas Tech would receive two yellow cards only seconds apart in the 79th minute. CU would draw a couple more fouls in this now-physical game. The physicality paid off defensively, as no more goals were scored. A few shots from Texas Tech occurred, the last one happening with still four minutes left in the game, and a last-minute push from CU that ultimately led to nothing for the Buffs.
The story here is the shots. Texas Tech outshot Colorado 23-5. While four out of five shots being on goal is impressive, the Colorado offense failed to force their way into more opportunities. This was CU’s lowest number of shots taken since playing Washington State on Oct. 19, 2023. Both defenses showed out, as this was only the ninth goal that Texas Tech had allowed all season. The Buffs did well to force 15 of the shots against them off target.
The Colorado soccer team is now 1-2-1 against ranked opponents. This tie keeps them in the top four in Big 12 rankings as they look towards their last four games of the season, all against Big 12 teams. The first will happen on Sunday at noon back in Boulder against the University of Central Florida (3-4-4, 1-3-2 Big 12).
Cover photo via Texas Tech Athletics
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