Thursday, August 31
Boulder, Colo.
7:00 PM
Colorado
4-1-0, 0-0-0
2
vs
1
North Carolina State
1-1-2, 0-0-0
1
2
F
NC State
0
1
1
Colorado
1
1
2
Photo by: CUBuffs.com
Buffs Win a Thriller
August 31, 2023 | Soccer
Last second heroics propel Buffs Past NC State
BOULDER—Shyra James headed in a pair of goals for Colorado, helping upend NC State 2-1 in the closing seconds at Prentup Field on Thursday night.
The Buffs got on the board early in the 6th minute and that goal held true until NC State found the net in the 87th minute.
The winner by James came at 89:22 on the clock and just three minutes after the Pack tied the game. The goal marks a new school record for the latest game-winning goal in regulation. James also moved into fifth all-time on CU's career-points list jumping ahead of Melissa Cartmell with 62 points (29 G, 4 A).
"It was a very good start [to the night]," head coach Danny Sanchez commented. "It was a good serve from Amaya and a great finish by Shyra. NC State is a very good team. That is an NCAA Tournament team. You can see their quality. I thought we conceded some possession but we defended really well. Allowing the late equalizer was disappointing, but to be fair, it was coming. On the flip side, what a great response from the Buffs. We got the ball forward and created a couple chances. To get the late-winner—I couldn't be prouder of the resiliency."
Senior Amaya Gonzalez picked up both assists on the goals, serving up the corner kicks. She now has three assists on the season, all coming off corner serves.
Sophomore Jordan Nytes was three minutes shy of recording what would have been her fourth shutout of the season. She made three saves in the second half alone, finishing with four on the night.
How it happened
Gonzalez connected with James on the Buffs' first corner kick of the night, with James heading home the near-side service to a charging James at the far post.
The Buffs continued to pressure the Pack in the opening half, outshooting NC State 6-3 in the period. Ally Clark and Ava Priest both had good scoring chances in the opening half, but couldn't add to the lead.
NC State flipped the field in the second half, posting 12 of its 15 shots in the final 45 minutes. The Buffaloes did a good job of getting in the shooting lanes and minimizing dangerous looks, blocking five shots in the final 45 minutes.
The Pack finally solved the Buffs' defense in the 87th minute with Taylor Chism heading home a corner serve to tie the game.
With three minutes to play the night seemed destined to finish in a draw. But the Buffs had other plans.
"We have a lot of confidence in ourselves," James said after the win. "We could have easily gotten down on ourselves after allowing that goal, but certain people on the team were like 'no, we're not going to get down.' I feel like that really pushed us to start working harder than them and I feel like we wanted it more."
A collision between Juliauna Hayward and NC State goalkeeper Maria Echezarreta forced Echezarreta to leave the match in the 89th minute.
Hayward sent a shot in on the new keeper, Oliva Pratapas, forcing a tip over the crossbar and setting up the game-winning corner chance.
Gonzalez found James in the middle of the pack this the second time around and redirected a header back across the goal to the far post to seal off the night in the 90th minute.
"The second one [goal] I felt like there was a connection," James explained. "I felt like she [Gonzalez] knew to look for me. She knew that I wanted it so she just kicked it right at me."
Upcoming
The Buffs closeout the current six-game homestand on Sunday, hosting Purdue (Noon).
Quotes
Head Coach Danny Sanchez
On in-game adjustments: "We made some adjustments and we told ourselves we're going to push to try and get the game-winner. We've learned in the last couple of years that draws don't necessarily help you. We felt that we needed to push so we made some attacking subs after they got the equalizer and fortunately for us, we were able to create a chance and Shyra was in the right place at the right time."
On RPI games: "We knew we had to get results in non-conference and we've done well these last two games. We need to get a result on Sunday as well. Purdue is a very good team. They had a tough match with USC today. Watching that game, the scoreline doesn't indicate how the game really was. We'll rest. We'll recover. We'll train. Then we'll get after Purdue on Sunday."
On the fans: "Last Sunday was a great turnout by Buff Nation. Hopefully, we get some momentum off of football at TCU on Saturday and looking forward to having another big crowd out here on Sunday."
Notes
James' goals were No. 28 and 29 of her career…She now sits just one goal behind Fran Munnelly for fourth all-time in goals at CU…The Buffs have now scored four of their nine goals this season off of corner kicks…CU's two goals conceded this season have also been off corner kicks…Colorado is now 15-16-2 against Power 5 schools in non-conference play since 2012…James is the first Buff to score two goals in a game since both she and Emerson Layne scored two apiece against Texas A&M Commerce (Sept. 1, 2022)…Gonzalez is the first Buff to have two assists in a game since Rachel Rosen had two vs. Omaha (Sept. 4, 2022).
The Buffs got on the board early in the 6th minute and that goal held true until NC State found the net in the 87th minute.
The winner by James came at 89:22 on the clock and just three minutes after the Pack tied the game. The goal marks a new school record for the latest game-winning goal in regulation. James also moved into fifth all-time on CU's career-points list jumping ahead of Melissa Cartmell with 62 points (29 G, 4 A).
"It was a very good start [to the night]," head coach Danny Sanchez commented. "It was a good serve from Amaya and a great finish by Shyra. NC State is a very good team. That is an NCAA Tournament team. You can see their quality. I thought we conceded some possession but we defended really well. Allowing the late equalizer was disappointing, but to be fair, it was coming. On the flip side, what a great response from the Buffs. We got the ball forward and created a couple chances. To get the late-winner—I couldn't be prouder of the resiliency."
Senior Amaya Gonzalez picked up both assists on the goals, serving up the corner kicks. She now has three assists on the season, all coming off corner serves.
Sophomore Jordan Nytes was three minutes shy of recording what would have been her fourth shutout of the season. She made three saves in the second half alone, finishing with four on the night.
How it happened
Gonzalez connected with James on the Buffs' first corner kick of the night, with James heading home the near-side service to a charging James at the far post.
The Buffs continued to pressure the Pack in the opening half, outshooting NC State 6-3 in the period. Ally Clark and Ava Priest both had good scoring chances in the opening half, but couldn't add to the lead.
NC State flipped the field in the second half, posting 12 of its 15 shots in the final 45 minutes. The Buffaloes did a good job of getting in the shooting lanes and minimizing dangerous looks, blocking five shots in the final 45 minutes.
The Pack finally solved the Buffs' defense in the 87th minute with Taylor Chism heading home a corner serve to tie the game.
With three minutes to play the night seemed destined to finish in a draw. But the Buffs had other plans.
"We have a lot of confidence in ourselves," James said after the win. "We could have easily gotten down on ourselves after allowing that goal, but certain people on the team were like 'no, we're not going to get down.' I feel like that really pushed us to start working harder than them and I feel like we wanted it more."
A collision between Juliauna Hayward and NC State goalkeeper Maria Echezarreta forced Echezarreta to leave the match in the 89th minute.
Hayward sent a shot in on the new keeper, Oliva Pratapas, forcing a tip over the crossbar and setting up the game-winning corner chance.
Gonzalez found James in the middle of the pack this the second time around and redirected a header back across the goal to the far post to seal off the night in the 90th minute.
"The second one [goal] I felt like there was a connection," James explained. "I felt like she [Gonzalez] knew to look for me. She knew that I wanted it so she just kicked it right at me."
Upcoming
The Buffs closeout the current six-game homestand on Sunday, hosting Purdue (Noon).
Quotes
Head Coach Danny Sanchez
On in-game adjustments: "We made some adjustments and we told ourselves we're going to push to try and get the game-winner. We've learned in the last couple of years that draws don't necessarily help you. We felt that we needed to push so we made some attacking subs after they got the equalizer and fortunately for us, we were able to create a chance and Shyra was in the right place at the right time."
On RPI games: "We knew we had to get results in non-conference and we've done well these last two games. We need to get a result on Sunday as well. Purdue is a very good team. They had a tough match with USC today. Watching that game, the scoreline doesn't indicate how the game really was. We'll rest. We'll recover. We'll train. Then we'll get after Purdue on Sunday."
On the fans: "Last Sunday was a great turnout by Buff Nation. Hopefully, we get some momentum off of football at TCU on Saturday and looking forward to having another big crowd out here on Sunday."
Notes
James' goals were No. 28 and 29 of her career…She now sits just one goal behind Fran Munnelly for fourth all-time in goals at CU…The Buffs have now scored four of their nine goals this season off of corner kicks…CU's two goals conceded this season have also been off corner kicks…Colorado is now 15-16-2 against Power 5 schools in non-conference play since 2012…James is the first Buff to score two goals in a game since both she and Emerson Layne scored two apiece against Texas A&M Commerce (Sept. 1, 2022)…Gonzalez is the first Buff to have two assists in a game since Rachel Rosen had two vs. Omaha (Sept. 4, 2022).
Team Stats
NCSU
COLO
Goals
1
2
Shots
15
16
Shots on Goal
5
8
Saves
6
4
Corners
5
4
Fouls
10
6
Scoring Plays
Shyra James (4)
Assisted By: Amaya Gonzalez
GOAL by COLO James, Shyra Assist by Gonzalez, Amaya.
05:40
Taylor Chism (1)
Assisted By: Mackenzie Smith
GOAL by NCSU Chism, Taylor Assist by Smith, Mackenzie.
86:59
Shyra James (4)
Assisted By: Amaya Gonzalez
GOAL by COLO James, Shyra Assist by Gonzalez, Amaya.
89:22
Game Leaders
Players
Shots
5
SOG
3
Goals
2
Assists
0
Shots
0
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
2
fwd
Shots
4
SOG
1
Goals
0
Assists
0
mid
Shots
3
SOG
1
Goals
0
Assists
0
Players Mentioned
M
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