Colorado
10-2-4, 4-1-4
Cincinnati
6-7-3, 2-5-2
Colorado Picks Up Second Consecutive Scoreless Draw
October 17, 2024 | Soccer
The Buffaloes pick up a point to start the trip at Cincinnati
CINCINNATI — The back of the net was hard to find for the second straight match for Colorado Thursday night at Gettler Stadium. The Buffaloes, making their first visit to Cincinnati, walked away with a point following its second-straight 0-0 scoreless draw.
Colorado (10-2-4, 4-1-4 Big 12) pushed its unbeaten streak on the road to six matches. The Buffaloes again outshot the opposition, 18-11, but landed just seven of the 18 shots on target.
The Buffs changed the starting lineup to try to spark some of the off-kilter offensive output in the last few matches. Mallory Allen and Jenny Beyer got their first starting nods of the season.
"We mixed things up a little bit," head coach Danny Sanchez explained. "I thought there were some good individual performances, but like I told the team, at the end of the day, we're still not getting enough in the final third. Ava [Priest] tested the keeper well in the second half, but other than that, we had a lot of great possessions through the midfield. We did everything tactically we asked them to do. We were very good in the back, just missing that final piece."
Reigning Big 12 Goalkeeper of the Week, Jordan Nytes, made four saves on the night, including three in the second half to preserve her 10th shutout of the year. She becomes the third CU goalkeeper to record double-digit shutouts in a single season, behind Kate Scheele (11) and Jessica Keller (12).
"We know that she'll always make the save when we need her to," Sanchez said of Nytes. "I thought the back four were exceptional. I thought Rachel [Rosen] and Laura [Gouvin] were fantastic. Phoenix [Dawn Miranda] and Faith [Leyba] dealt with everything. That was not the challenge tonight. We need to regroup and figure out a way to get it done on Sunday."
Cincinnati (6-7-3, 2-5-2 Big 12) got seven saves from Anna Rexford to hold the Buffs off the board.
How it Happened
The first shot on goal for either side didn't come until the 29th minute, with Nytes making her lone save of the half. The Buffs outshot the Bearcats 6-4 in the first 45 minutes, but both sides struggled to get on frame in the opening period.
The Buffs outplayed UC in the first half, out-earning the home team in corner chances, 3-1, and in free kicks, 8-0.
Chances increased in the second half, with CU pressing for 12 more shots before the final whistle.
Nytes produced two game-saving stops in the 79th minute and then again stopped a scramble in front of the net in the 89th minute.
The Buffs won possession back at midfield inside 30 seconds to play to mount a final push. Laura Govin sent a long serve to Ava Priest at the top of the 18-yard box. Priest settled and cut to the middle of the box before going back outside and firing a shot that got deflected just over the crossbar, giving the Buffs a corner kick in the final seconds.
Rachel Rosen rushed to get the ball to the corner and got the kick in play before time expired, but the chance was headed out away by the Cincinnati defense.
Up Next
The Buffs will travel to West Virginia for their final regular-season road game. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. MT (ESPN+).
Notes
It's the first back-to-back scoreless draws in program history…It's the 12th scoreless draw since 2012...Nytes now has 18 shutouts at CU (5th in program history)…Priest led the team with six shots...The Buffs played without leading scorer Shyra James for the fifth straight match.
