KANSAS CITY – The Colorado Buffaloes (11-3-5, 4-2-5 Big 12) defeated the Utah Utes (8-6-5, 5-3-3 Big 12) by a score of 2-1 and likely kept their season alive, with a second-half explosion Wednesday morning. The victory ended the Buffaloes' winless streak along with their scoring drought.
Colorado became very familiar with how Utah plays after a 0-0 draw last Friday. Traveling out to Kansas City, Missouri, for the Big 12 Tournament, the first-round matchup provided an opportunity for Colorado to prove itself. The teams were met with heavy winds at the start of the match, and Colorado head coach Danny Sanchez decided to play into the wind to start the match. This favors them to have the wind at their backs in the second.
Early on it seemed Utah was poised to control the match, as Colorado continued its offensive woes. Both teams came out aggressive with Utah getting the first shot not even a minute in. Fouls committed on both sides set the tone for the rest of the match in this physical postseason opener. The Buffaloes were ready to play and did not back down. After exchanging shots early on, Utah was the first to finally strike in the 23rd minute.
Senior forward Katie O’Kane had possession of the ball attacking the goal hard from the left. As Jordan Nytes stepped up to defend, she quickly passed it over to freshman midfielder, Katie Callaway, who had an easy tap in the bottom right of the net to secure the goal for the Utes. The momentum heavily shifted in the favor of Utah moving forward.
During the 28th minute, both teams brought in substitutions attempting to create a better look, with fresher legs. This proved beneficial for the Buffs as fifth year forward Shyra James nearly scored on a header that was saved.The defense was as prominent as it was in the first contest for both schools. The teams were highly aggressive to score, but good goalkeeper play prevented any further goals in the half. The shot attempts were near even with Utah having eight to Colorado’s six.
As the second period began, Colorado was once again aggressive in trying to generate a tying goal. In the 46th minute, James’ shot attempt was saved by Utah goalkeeper Kasey Wardle. Just like the first half, the Buffaloes were so close to scoring but couldn't quite finish the job. Between the 51st and 55th minutes, Utah controlled possession and attempted three shots. Colorado tried rotating to generate fresh players in response to the offensive lull at the start of the half.
In the 61st minute, the Buffaloes had a corner kick but could not find the net still. For the next 10 minutes, it seemed Colorado was fatiguing. The Buffs needed just one play to get the ball rolling and change the momentum. Luckily, sophomore forward Hope Leyba made their wishes come true after dicing through defenders and trickling in a goal in the bottom right of the net. In the 72nd minute, the Buffs finally cleansed their scoring demons.
Angered about a potential foul that was a no-call on the goal, Wardle received a yellow card for arguing with an official. From that point forward, the momentum greatly swung in the Buffs’ favor. Utah players became visibly upset and frustrated as the game continued. In the 74th minute, Utah was issued another yellow card when Bella Woods got upset, yelling at an official. Sophomore defender Ava Priest took over for Leyba as being the aggressive player. The women competed greatly, taking turns firing on goal and inching closer to a win.
In the 85th minute, Ava Priest did the improbable. After taking up a pass on the left side, she shot far across the goal attempting to pass, but the ball curved just enough to set inside the right post, securing the go-ahead goal. With a 2-1 lead, Colorado sucked the life out of Utah. The momentum and joy of the players were seen by the smiles on their faces.
The aggressive Buffs looked fresher in the closing minutes. Utah tried to push the ball downfield but Colorado's defense was suffocating. Ultimately, the Buffs were able to hold on down the stretch and advance on in the Big 12 tournament. After the game, coach Sanchez acknowledged the impressive half from the Buffaloes.
“You gotta keep believing, and that's all we said at halftime. The soccer Gods were on our side a little bit in the second half,” Sanchez said. “A great effort from Hope on the first goal, and Ava was just fantastic today, Jord(an) was big time…The players who were brought off the bench were fantastic today.”
It was the usual contributors who made an impact on Colorado. As Big 12 Goalkeeper of the Year, Nytes had multiple impressive saves that kept the Buffs afloat. Notably, it was her vocal presence on the field that stood for the defense.
“She's such a key piece. She's an attacking player, and at the end of the day she's a captain, leader, she wants to score and she was doing whatever she could to get us a goal,” Sanchez said.
With two days to rest, Colorado will face the top-seeded TCU Horned Frogs on Saturday. The Buffaloes will look to carry the momentum from the victory into that game. It was the loss to TCU that first began the slide for the team back in September. They will have their chance for redemption.
“One game knockout match, anything can happen," Sanchez said. "We have to believe and continue to fight but we’re going to have to play our best match on Saturday if we want to advance."
Cover photo by CUBuffsSoccer/Instagram
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