Buffs Roll Past Northern Colorado In First Round Of NCAA Tournament

BOULDER – Colorado scored a season-high six goals, by six different goal scorers in its 6-0 win over Northern Colorado to open the NCAA Women's Soccer Tournament on Saturday.

The Buffaloes were busy in the afternoon, adding six assists also from six different players. Colorado finished the match with 18 points, the most by a CU team in a tournament match. The Buffs' scoring output also tied for the 5th best total in CU history.

Senior Taylor Kornieck helped contribute a goal and an assist in the first half. Her assist on the opening goal moved her into a tie with former Buff Fran Munnelly for the all-time assist mark (24). The assist also marked her 100th career point, becoming the first CU player to hit the century mark. Kornieck scored on a penalty kick for CU's second tally. It was her fourth goal of the season from the penalty spot, setting a new single-season record.

Senior Jalen Tompkins preserved the shutout with one save as the Buffs outshot the Golden Bears 24-6. The shutout was her the 25th solo-shutout of her career, tying her with Jessica Keller for the most by a CU goalkeeper.

The win moves CU's tournament record to 10-10-1 all-time in the NCAA Tournament. The Buffs improved to 12-7-2 overall this season.

How it happened
Northern Colorado recorded the first three shots to start the afternoon, but it didn't take long for the Colorado offense to counter. Kayleigh Webb and Kornieck had solid chances in the 16th minute that got the ball rolling for the Buffs.

Sophomore Libby Geraghty broke the scoring open in the 29th minute as Kornieck played a ball up to Tessa Barton, who headed it ahead for Geraghty, allowing her to break into the open. Geraghty slipped the ball under UNC's keeper, Ashley Franza, just getting the ball across the goal line for the eventual game-winner.

CU led 2-0 after Kornieck buried a penalty kick less than five minutes later when Barton was fouled in the box.

Just over a minute into the second half, Roo Yarnell-Williams extended the lead as her shot from the center of the box deflected off a defender past the goalkeeper.

Jade Babcock-Chi, Camilla Shymka and Kyla Ferry all scored their first goals of the season to close out the Bears.

BY THE NUMBERS:
Colorado
Goals: 6
Shots: 24
Fouls: 9
Saves: 1

Northern Colorado
Goals: 0
Shots: 6
Fouls: 10
Saves: 3

Up Next: Colorado awaits the winner of North Carolina and Belmont. The second round will begin on Friday, Nov. 22.

Notes: CU's six goals were the most since its 6-0 win over Oregon State last season…The team's six assists tied for the fourth-most in school history…Yarnell-Williams' goal was her fourth of the season…Kornieck now has 30 points on the season tying former teammate Jorian Baucom for the second-best season point total in CU history…Shymka also added an assist, giving her a career-high three points...Amaya Gonzalez recorded an assist on CU's fifth goal for the first point of her career...Colorado's four second-half goals tied for the fifth-best half in program history…Colorado is now 6-4 in NCAA Tournament play under Coach Sanchez…CU holds a +10 goal differential over Northern Colorado, adding to its 4-0 win back in September.

Quotes
Head coach Danny Sanchez
Overall thoughts
"The first thing is, I really want to thank the community. The Greeley community and the Boulder community that came out and supported a great NCAA match today. There were 1,600 fans and it was a great atmosphere. I think as we grow our sport, these are the kind of environments we want to play in, especially when we play local rivals. As far as the match, you know, I thought we played very well. Credit to Northern Colorado, they came out with a game plan and made it very difficult for us early. At halftime, it was only 2-0 with two shots on goal, so I think we were a little fortunate to be there and they had some really good opportunities on the counter. I think the key to the match was getting that early goal in the second half. That kind of opened the game up for us a little bit. We're very pleased with the result, we're pleased with how we performed, and we want to congratulate Northern Colorado on a great season and winning the Big Sky and advancing to the NCAA tournament. Obviously, we're pleased for our group and the opportunity to advance to next weekend."

On CU seniors Taylor Kornieck and Jalen Tompkins
"We've [CU's coaches] been around Colorado soccer a long time and Colorado soccer has produced a lot of great players through the years. I think when they have a Mount Rushmore of players, I think that these two are going to be on it, along with some of the former greats like Nikki Marshall, Amy Barczuk, Fran Munnelly and so forth. These are special young women that have done a lot for us. For them to go out with a win in likely their last game at Prentup [Field] is special. Sometimes you don't get that moment and they get an opportunity to play at least one more game together. I'm really pleased with them and the whole group."

On the Potential of Playing North Carolina Next Round
"At this time of the season, they are probably along with Stanford the co-favorites to go all the way. They've had a fantastic season and unlike the last few years, they're very healthy at the end of the year. As we know, they run 20-22 players at you every game. We'll have to be up for that challenge. Having said that, we play in the Pac-12 so we have played a lot of really good teams this year with mixed results. We're going to have to be good on Friday if North Carolina advances. Having said that, we play a lot of big games against a lot of really good teams. I don't think we'd be struck by the moment at all. We're going to have to get through the first stretch of the match and give ourselves a chance, but we understand we're going to have to play really well. We're going to be bought in. At the end of the day, if you have some special players you always give yourself a chance. I feel we have some special players and we're excited to get out there and test ourselves against one of the top teams in the country."

Senior Taylor Kornieck
On Getting Players Back Healthy
"It makes us really dangerous. We have a deep bench and I'm glad Roo [Yarnell-Williams] got to play a lot of minutes today and get back. Libby [Geraghty] as well. I'm proud of them all and how hard they worked today. Hopefully, they bring it into the next game."

On What it Means to Leave Prentup Field with a Win
"It means the world to me, honestly. I think we came out strong and that was the key to get that early goal in the first half as well. I'm also really proud of, Kyla [Ferry], Cam [Shymka] and Jade [Babcock-Chi] for getting their first goals of the season."

Senior Jalen Tompkins
On Tying the Colorado Shutout Record
"It's just really cool. I came to Colorado to do something great and I feel like I'm really proud of that accomplishment. I think it says a lot. I mean, I only had one shot on goal today, so I owe a lot of it to my defense. The team always defends with 11 and attacks with 11. But I'm really happy. My parents are going to be happy. I'm sure the team is happy, but I think it says a lot about the team and teams over the four years I've played here."

On How CU's Defense Played
"That's my favorite type of game. I didn't have to do anything. The defense did great, there came a couple of opportunities, but we cleaned that up in the back. It's always great to get a clean sheet going into the next game. I'm happy with the result."

Next Event

Team Stats

Taylor Kornieck

Kyla Ferry

Camilla Shymka

Roo Yarnell-Williams

Players Mentioned

Jade Babcock-Chi

Tessa Barton

Jorian Baucom

Kyla Ferry

Libby Geraghty

Amaya Gonzalez

Taylor Kornieck

Camilla Shymka

Jalen Tompkins

Kayleigh Webb

Roo Yarnell-Williams