Colorado
10-2-0, 2-1-0
Oregon State
3-4-4, 0-2-1
Colorado Takes Down the Beavers
October 01, 2023 | Soccer
CU Earns 2-1 Victory in Corvallis
CORVALLIS, Ore. – Colorado used two unanswered goals from Shyra James and Emerson Layne in a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Oregon State on Sunday.
Oregon State (3-4-4, 0-2-1 Pac-12) opened things up with a goal in the 4th minute of the match, but Colorado kept its composure and was able to take the lead before halftime. James extended her scoring streak to six games while Layne recorded a goal in each game against the Oregon schools.Â
"I think the group has a strong mentality and also has very good leadership," head coach Danny Sanchez explained. "When you get on the road, things are going to happen. For example, giving up that early goal and how you respond to it. I thought today we responded very well."
Sunday's win completed the sweep of the schools in the team's final conference trip through the state. The victory marked CU's first win in Corvallis since the 2018 season. The Buffs have now won three matches in a row over the Beavers. It was also Colorado's fourth road win of the season, marking the most since 2018 (5).
"It's tough to get results on the road and it was a great result for the Buffs," Sanchez added.
Both teams were even in shots with seven a side in the first half. OSU finished with a slight edge in shots on the day, 14-13. The big guns for both teams led the way with McKenna Martinez getting credit for seven shots for OSU, while James led the Buffs with six.
"We needed to do a better job of punishing them [Oregon State] when they got numbers forward and we didn't do that, but defensively we did a very good job in the second half," Sanchez noted.
How It Happened
Gwen Jacobs scored for OSU on the first shot of the afternoon, taking a 1-0 lead in the 4th minute. Â
The Buffs answered with a goal of their own six minutes later. Ava Priest raced down the near sideline and into the box, passing off to a wide-open James who slotted the equalizer. The goal was the 10th of the season for James and extended her goal-scoring streak to six games.
"I feel we started a little slow in the beginning," James said after the win. "I didn't want us to break down or anything after they got their goal. I just wanted everybody to keep the positivity going. We worked for that goal and it was easy soccer. That's just what we need to do to win."
Layne, a Colorado native, put CU out in front in the 25th minute. Jade Babcock-Chi got the goal started finding James in traffic inside the box. James flicked the ball with her back to the goal and it found Layne in the middle of the box for the finish.
The action came to a slowdown in the second half other than four yellow cards. Three of them came from Colorado's side while the Beavers picked up the other.Â
CU keeper Jordan Nytes made two of her three saves in the final 45 minutes.
"I think we managed the game very well and limited their opportunities," Sanchez commented about the second half. "McKenna Martinez is a dangerous player but I felt all the players in the back really dealt with her."
All smiles at the half! ??#SideBeforeSelf // #GoBuffs pic.twitter.com/UQVp8JquFF
— Colorado Buffaloes Soccer (@CUBuffsSoccer) October 1, 2023
Up Next
Colorado will head back home this week to take on Stanford on Thursday night, followed up with California on Sunday afternoon. The Buffs will look to bounce back after losing their last match in Boulder to No. 5 ranked UCLA.Â
Quotes
Head Coach Danny Sanchez
On Overall thoughts
"Well it's a disappointing start obviously but a great response from the squad. The first goal when Shyra buried it really gave us momentum and we kept that momentum going forward."
Senior Shyra James
On her play
"We [the team] have a really good connection with everyone, especially all the starters. And yeah, I'm going after that, my own [consecutive goal scoring] record [10 games]. So hopefully I will surpass it."
Notes
Sunday's win was the 10th of the season, marking the most since 12-8-2 in 2019…Layne has now scored in two straight matches…Babcock-Chi's assist was her first of the season…Coach Sanchez recorded career win No. 130 at CU…James now has 35 career goals and is just four shy of tying Taylor Kornieck for second on CU's career goals list…She now has 76 career points and trails Katie Griffin (78) for 4th all-time.
Team Stats
Gwen Jacobs (1)
Assisted By: Mia Erba
GOAL by OSU Jacobs, Gwen Assist by Erba, Mia.
03:10
Shyra James (10)
Assisted By: Ava Priest
GOAL by COL James, Shyra Assist by Priest, Ava.
09:25
Emerson Layne (2)
Assisted By: Shyra James , Jade Babcock-Chi
GOAL by COL Layne, Emerson Assist by James, Shyra and Babcock-Chi, Jade.
24:01
