Buffs Pull Through on Sunday

BOULDER — Colorado pushed its win streak to six matches in its return to Prentup Field on Sunday. The Buffaloes used a Juliauna Hayward goal to break a second-half tie on their way to a 2-1 triumph over Colgate.

The Buff statistically dominated the Raiders on Sunday. CU outshot Colgate 21-2 on the afternoon, with both of Colgate's shots coming in the second half. Sunday was the fourth match of the season that saw the Buffs launch off 20 or more shots. Just five of CU's 21 shots were on target.

The match was much tighter than the stat sheet would indicate. The Buffs hit three shots off the frame of the net, including two in the first half that could have given CU a commanding 3-0 lead at the break. Instead, Shyra James had the lone goal in the first 45 minutes and Colgate got back to even on a second-half penalty kick conversion.

"Give credit to Colgate after a tough result on Thursday," head coach Danny Sanchez expressed. "They could have come in here and mailed it in, but I thought they really competed and made things difficult for us. Having said that, we just were not efficient enough in the final third. We didn't get enough chances on goal for the amount of shots we had."

The Buffaloes trotted out a vastly different starting lineup that featured four true freshmen in the starting XI for the first time since 2020. Grace Thao made her first career start, joining Ava Priest, Faith Leyba and Hope Leyba.

"I told the team after the game that if you're going to learn a lesson, learn the lesson when you win the game," Sanchez continued. "We won the game. That's what matters. Now we look forward to Denver next week."

Jordan Nytes was not credited with a save for the first time this season. The lone goal conceded by the Buffs came off a penalty kick and proved to be the only shot on net for the Raiders on the afternoon.

How it Happened
James was a key player in the Buffs' offensive chances in the first half. She had three shots, with two getting on target in her 41 minutes on the pitch. Her header in the 27th minute clanked off the left post and led to a close-in chance by Greer Maguire¸ but she was flagged offsides after putting the ball in the net.

James finally broke through for the Buffs in the 33rd minute, heading home her sixth goal of the season. Rachel Rosen sent an excellent ball in from 38 yards out and James, directed it to the far side of the, catching Colgate keeper Alli Popham moving in the opposite direction.

"That was a great serve from Rachel and a great finish by Shyra," Sanchez noted. "She put herself in a good position today and I thought her work off the ball was good. We didn't find her enough in the second half and we got disjointed in the second. But overall she had a good performance."

F. Lebya nearly added to the advantage in the 37th minute. She was able to knee a ball that was deflected off of Popham's hands, putting it right off the crossbar. Popham scrambled through traffic to gather the rebound off the woodwork, keeping the Buffs off the board.

Colgate got on the board in the 55th minute after Ana Schremp went to the ground with very little contact inside the Colorado penalty area. Maguire was called for the foul inside the box and Ari Bezanson converted on the penalty attempt to even the score at 1-1.

Colorado got the goal back two minutes later in the 59th minute. Priest sent a flip-throw into the box that found the head of James. The ball hopped to Hayward on one bounce and the Broomfield, Colo., native, made on touch and fired it out of midair beating Popham in the upper left corner from 20 yards out.

"It's ironic that Shyra was the one that headed it to me," Hayward commented. "She was the most vocal after they [Colgate] scored and was like 'We got this. This is our game. That got me going and I was like 'This is our game.' I missed at least six wide-open goals against New Mexico [on Thursday]. I was going to do whatever it took to help my team win."

Bezanson remained active for Colgate after her goal, picking up a yellow card in the 58th minute and then a second in the 64th minute. The second card awarded to Bezanson converted to a red card and Colgate was forced to finish the match with 10 players.

Upcoming
Colorado will have an extra day of rest this week with the team's next game scheduled for Friday at Denver.

Quotes
Head Coach Danny Sanchez
On responding after the Colgate goal: "We shouldn't have to have wake-up calls, but that was a wake-up call. The goal came from a lot of pressure and was a class finish. Juliauna has been close and we really needed it today. That was the difference in the game. We had some chances to take care of the game after that and we didn't. At the end of the day, we gave up one shot on goal and that was on a penalty kick. Now we refocus and get ready for Denver."

On the extra rest: "Hopefully we get some players back to fitness. But having a single-game weekend, you can really focus on one opponent just like Denver is. It will be a big match. They'll have a packed stadium next Friday night so we really have to perform better than we did today."

Juliauna Hayward
On Colorado's overall play: It's hard going from Thursday under the lights [at New Mexico] to coming home for a Sunday afternoon match. But it was a cloudy day and that was nice because we've been used to playing when it's been super-hot these past few Sundays. I think our lack of focus showed and it wasn't our best game. At the end of the day, we got the win and we're just moving forward."

On playing Denver: "I'm looking forward to the rivalry. We know that Denver is a good team. We know that they want to come into this game and give it all they've got. We're going to come out as a better team [than today] right off the bat. We're not going to wait 10, or 20 minutes to get into the game. It's got to be right from the start."

Notes
CU's six-game winning streak matches its longest since starting the 2019 season 6-0-0…Hayward became CU's ninth different goal scorer of the season…James' goal was the 31st of her career, moving her into sole possession of fourth on the Buffs' all-time scoring list…Rosen's assist was her first of the season…she became the 12th different player to record a point this season.

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Team Stats

Shyra James

Juliauna Hayward

Ava Priest

Rachel Rosen

Players Mentioned

Juliauna Hayward

Shyra James

Faith Leyba

Hope Leyba

Greer Maguire

Jordan Nytes

Ava Priest

Rachel Rosen

Grace Thao

Players Mentioned

Juliauna Hayward

Shyra James

Faith Leyba

Hope Leyba

Greer Maguire

Jordan Nytes

Ava Priest

Rachel Rosen

Grace Thao