Two Unanswered Goals Help Colorado Past Kent State

BOULDER – Colorado surrendered its first goal of the season and was forced to battle from behind on its way to the 2-1 win over Kent State on Thursday. The win keeps the Buffaloes unbeaten in the early season, improving to 3-0.

Sophomore Kayleigh Webb and senior Taylor Kornieck provided CU's offense. Webb's goal was the equalizer the Buffs needed to right the ship, but it was her hard work and effort that helped set up Kornieck's game-winner.

Kent State (0-1-1) pushed the Buffs hard in the opening half. The Golden Flashes got the ball deep in the CU zone early on, earning three corner kicks in the first three minutes. Kent State looked to have gotten on the board in the 12th minute, but not without confusion. The officials converged and ruled the Golden Flashes offside, wiping away the goal.

KSU continued to control the momentum and got on the board without question in the 21st minute. Karly Hellstrom floated a ball into the upper left corner past a leaping Jalen Tompkins.

Colorado (3-0-0) picked up its play midway through the first half and gave Kent State little room to breath in the second. The Buffs outshot the Golden Flashes, 19-10, after being tied 6-6 at the half.

How it happened
Colorado's comeback started right after the Kent State goal. The Buffs outshot KSU 3-1 leading up to the mark and earned its first corner kick in the 36th minute. Sophomore Hannah Sharts served up a ball toward the far post. Kornieck met it with a header at the top of the goal area, centering it in front. The ball ricocheted off freshman Tessa Barton and flicked to Webb at the near post. Webb headed it from just off the goal line, helping the Buffs back to even.

Colorado looked like a different team in the second half, playing with much more confidence. The Buffs allowed just one shot on goal in the final 45 minutes, keeping possession for much of the half.

CU got scoring chances from Kornieck and Roo Yarnell-Williams in the second half, but would not break the tie until the 65th minute.

Sharts threw a long ball into the box and it bounced in toward Webb atop the six-yard box. Two Golden Flashes converged on her as she helicoptered in mid-air, drawing the whistle and the penalty kick. Kornieck stepped up and easily converted for the Buffs to go up 2-1.

Key Statistics: Colorado turned things around with 13 shots in the second half. Kornieck totaled nine shots in the game, three off her school record.

BY THE NUMBERS:

Colorado
Goals: 2
Shots: 19
Fouls: 16
Saves: 3

Kent State
Goals: 1
Shots: 10
Fouls: 15
Saves: 3

Up Next: The Buffs will welcome in No. 24 Texas on Sunday (1 p.m.). The Longhorns lost to Denver, 3-0, on Thursday.

Notes: Kornieck's PK goal was the sixth of her career, tying her with Fran Munnelly for the most all-time by a Buff…the goal was also her 12th-career game-winner, breaking a tie for third all-time at CU…Kornieck moves into a tie with Katie Griffin for third on CU's career points list with 78…her assist on Webb's goal was the 20th of her career, becoming just the third Buff to have 20 career assists…Barton's assist was the first point of her collegiate career.

Quotes
Head coach Danny Sanchez
On start to the game
"I think they got us on our heels. JJ [Tompkins] made an unbelievable save in the first five minutes and they were offsides on the goal, but they still scored the goal. Then we are still sleepwalking. Kent State is a good team There is nobody at this level that you can just roll into. Maybe we were not focused enough to a certain extent. It is just human nature. Having said that, I was especially pleased with the second half. I think the key was getting that goal in the first half. It was a great individual effort from Taylor [Kornieck] and Tessa [Barton] got a flick onto Kayleigh [Webb], who was fantastic today."

On facing the early adversity
"We were not under a lot of pressure last weekend. Today we were. I like how we bounced back. I thought we started hanging our heads after giving up the goal. I thought in the second half we were fantastic. I don't think they pressured JJ at all. We were heavy in their half the whole half."

On Kayleigh Webb
"We all know she is a very good player. She could potentially be a great player. We challenged her to have a bigger role. Take the goal and drawing the penalty out of it and I thought she was very good today. She won most of her challenges in the air. She dealt with their attacking midfielder well, for the most part. Her passing was very good. I was pleased with what she did and we need performances like that from her moving forward."

Sophomore Kayleigh Webb
On scoring her goal
"We've just been working on our set plays a lot so I'm glad it finally worked out for us."

On today's match
"We started slow, which we really can't do. It is a Thursday afternoon so we didn't have a lot of fans out so we are the ones that have to bring [energy]. We started a little slow but after that, we kept on going. We worked hard and worked as a team. We just need to play fast on the front-foot and get wide."

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Team Stats

Taylor Kornieck

Kayleigh Webb

Tessa Barton

Roo Yarnell-Williams

Players Mentioned

Tessa Barton

Taylor Kornieck

Hannah Sharts

Jalen Tompkins

Kayleigh Webb

Roo Yarnell-Williams

Players Mentioned

Tessa Barton

Taylor Kornieck

Hannah Sharts

Jalen Tompkins

Kayleigh Webb

Roo Yarnell-Williams