Three minutes from their 3-2 loss to the then-No. 8 North Carolina Tar Heels live in the minds of the No. 21 Colorado Buffaloes (8-1, Big 12 2-0).
In the waning moments of their second matchup with a ranked opponent this season in the No. 12 Oklahoma State Cowgirls (8-1-1, Big 12 1-1), those three minutes from the Buffs' only loss of 2024 were all the CU faithful could think of.
As CU head coach Danny Sanchez says, however, "these things tend to even out." On Thursday night after a lengthy weather delay, that's exactly what happened when four-time and current back-to-back Big 12 Goalkeeper of the Week Jordan Nytes stuck up her right paw to punch away an Xcaret Pineda strike from beyond the box with 24 seconds to play, the Buffs up 2-1.
A rushed corner was caught by Nytes right after, securing a win over the school she won her first Big 12 GK of the Week with, and the only Big 12 program besides the Buffs with seven wins. The black and gold, who were voted No. 4 in the Big 12 preseason poll, now lead the conference early in the season.
Nytes' save was one of three on the night, tying the second-fewest saves she's had in a game this season. Similar to Kansas State, they were all impressive in one fashion or another. In addition to her game-winning swat, she stuffed a penalty kick from the boot of Pineda, a junior midfielder.
The 34th-minute diving save led to a 36th-minute Colorado goal, marking a 1-0 game. A deep CU pass into the Cowgirls' side of the field was misdirected by an orange defender, squirting to Sami Fisher and creating a 2-on-3 attack for the Buffs. Leyba got wide-right from Fisher, gaining enough space for a pass she handled and placed on goal. Shooting from just outside the goalie box, the force of Leyba's shot was too hot for Oklahoma State GK Grace Gordon to handle as she allowed the first goal of her graduate student campaign. It was the fifth of Leyba's sophomore season.
Early in the second half, the black and gold struck again. Freshman forward Jace Holley, who scored the game-winner against Kansas State, placed a header off the left post, just out of Gordon's reach. The header came from 12 yards out, assisted by graduate student midfielder Michaela Rosenbaum in the 52nd minute.
The lead seemed safe with Nytes breaking the Colorado record for consecutive minutes without an allowed goal, surpassing 537 minutes early in the game. Yet, Oklahoma State senior forward Nicole Ray struck in the 63rd minute, receiving a quality chance for a header herself. While her original shot banged off the crossbar, a disoriented Nytes watched Ray snap the streak and cut the lead to one on the rebound.
While the Cowgirls flipped the pressure the Buffs held until Ray's goal, they failed to generate another shot on goal until Nytes' game-saving block. CU outshot OSU 11-9 in the game, putting six shots on goal to its four. Oklahoma State had six corners to Colorado's five.
Riding the thrill of two wins to open Big 12 play and their seventh straight, the Buffs look ahead to an 11 a.m. MT Sunday duel against the Iowa State Cyclones (3-4-2, Big 12 1-0) to finish their road trip.
Cover photo by @CUBuffs/X
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