Friday, November 15
Athens, Ga.
2:30 p.m.
Colorado
12-4-5, 4-2-5
3
at
2
Georgia
8-7-6, 3-3-4
1
2
F
Colorado
1
2
3
Georgia
2
0
2
Photo by: Gavin Crowson
Buffs Fiddle Past Georgia
November 15, 2024 | Soccer
Colorado upsets No. 7-seeded Georgia to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament
ATHENS, GA. – Colorado used two second-half goals from Hope Leyba and Shyra James to come from behind and defeat No. 7-seeded Georgia, 3-2, Friday night and advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
The win marks the program's first since a 6-0 victory over Northern Colorado in the first round of the 2019 tournament.
"We've been due for a performance like this," head coach Danny Sanchez said after the win. "I told the team at halftime that although we were down 2-1, I thought they bought into the game plan and were playing well. We changed our formation and tactics 100% in the second half and Hope getting that goal just gave us a belief that we could come back on the road against a very good team.
"Then, obviously, Shyra does what Shyra does," Sanchez continued. "She scores goals. You give her a half chance; she's going to bury it. Then, in the last 27 minutes after we got up 3-2, I was really proud of how we defended. Jordi [Nytes] dealt with what she needed to, but really at the end of the day she didn't have to make a huge save. The players' work ethic towards the end of the match to kill off the game was fantastic.
Georgia outshot the Buffs 23-11 on the night and 9-7 on goal. Nytes made three of her seven saves in the second half, including a key stop in the 87th minute.
Ava Priest opened the scoring for the Buffs, netting the goal of the entire NCAA Tournament 24 minutes into the contest. Leyba's goal was her eighth of the season, while James' goal was the 47th of her career, pushing her over 100 career points.
Colorado will now face the winner of No. 2-seeded Wake Forest vs. Morehead State. The date will be announced later this week.
How It Happened
The Buffs were the aggressors right out of the starting blocks on Friday. Shyra James got the game's first shot on goal in the fourth minute and Colorado outshot Georgia 3-1 in the first 14 minutes.
The Bulldogs had the game's first scoring opportunity in the 17th minute, with Hannah White cutting inside the box. She put a left-footed shot on target from close range, but Colorado's Jordan Nytes was in an excellent position to make the first of her four saves in the half.
Official video replay came into play midway through the first half. The first review was for a yellow card on Georgia's Cate Hardin, after a hard tackle on Colorado's Juliuana Hayward. The call stood as a yellow card in the 19th minute. The second review went the Buffs' way, following Hope Leyba getting tackled to the ground in the Georgia penalty area. The call, initially not giving as a penalty kick, was overturned, and Ava Priest slotted the first goal of the entire tournament to take a 1-0 lead.
"The amount of effort and determination, and we know it from her and her sister, is off the charts," Sanchez added about Leyba. "If you look at last year and the early part of this year, she wasn't getting rewarded for it, but now that was just a flat-out effort play to win the penalty, and then obviously Ava wanted it. She grabbed the ball, and there was no question she went up and buried it."
The Bulldogs pushed back, forcing back-to-back saves from Nytes in the 26th minute, but Georgia drew even with a header from Margie Detrizio in the 30th minute. Seven minutes later, the Dawgs took a 2-1 lead with White finding the back of the net in the 37th minute.
The Buffs didn't take long to get back to even in the second half, scoring in the 55th minute. Leyba drove down the far sideline and cut across the end line, firing a shot on net that was saved by Georgia's Jordan Brown. The rebound sat right in front of the net and Leyba made a diving effort to launch the ball in the top of the net to tie the game up at 2-2.
Georgia pressed over the next 10 minutes but couldn't get a shot through the CU defensive unit.
Trying to clear their zone, the Bulldogs passed the ball right to James, who was all alone off the top of the 18-yard box. She took two touches and put the ball past the charging keeper, capitalizing on the Georgia mistake and notching the game-winner in the 63rd minute.
"Soccer is a funny game," Sanchez explained. "I thought once Hope got that goal, we had a lot of momentum and kept pressing. Shyra was just really smart. She knows where to be and to pick that pass off, but more importantly, the composure to bury it was first class."
Playing with the lead, Colorado went to the corners in the last 10 minutes, trying to keep the ball out of danger. The Bulldogs hit the crossbar in the 86th minute, and Nytes made her largest stop of the night in the 87th minute to preserve the victory.
"To go on the road against a quality SEC team and get three goals and have a couple of other good chances as Shyra hit the post with a header at the end of the game that could have put it away, I think, says more about the group," Sanchez noted. "But the determination and focus has been there all year. Sometimes you don't get the instant gratification, but this was a good night to get some of that gratification."
Notes
Colorado improves to 11-13-1 all-time in the NCAA Tournament…The win was Colorado's first road tournament win since a 1-0 win at Denver in the first round of the 2013 NCAA Tournament…The Buffs are now 2-9-0 all-time on the road in tournament play…James' goal gives her 101 career points, becoming just the second player to reach 100 in program history…James now trails Taylor Kornieck's record 102 career points…Lebay leads the team this season with 18 points…Priest's goal was her fifth of the season…Her goal was the first for CU in the last three NCAA Tournament games…She now has 15 points this season and is tied with James for second on the team…Nytes' seven saves are tied for the third most by a CU keeper in a tournament game (JJ Tompkins, 7 vs. Norther Carolina, 2017)…Nytes now has 10 career saves as a Buff in the NCAA Tournament in two games, which is good for fifth all-time.
The win marks the program's first since a 6-0 victory over Northern Colorado in the first round of the 2019 tournament.
"We've been due for a performance like this," head coach Danny Sanchez said after the win. "I told the team at halftime that although we were down 2-1, I thought they bought into the game plan and were playing well. We changed our formation and tactics 100% in the second half and Hope getting that goal just gave us a belief that we could come back on the road against a very good team.
"Then, obviously, Shyra does what Shyra does," Sanchez continued. "She scores goals. You give her a half chance; she's going to bury it. Then, in the last 27 minutes after we got up 3-2, I was really proud of how we defended. Jordi [Nytes] dealt with what she needed to, but really at the end of the day she didn't have to make a huge save. The players' work ethic towards the end of the match to kill off the game was fantastic.
Georgia outshot the Buffs 23-11 on the night and 9-7 on goal. Nytes made three of her seven saves in the second half, including a key stop in the 87th minute.
Ava Priest opened the scoring for the Buffs, netting the goal of the entire NCAA Tournament 24 minutes into the contest. Leyba's goal was her eighth of the season, while James' goal was the 47th of her career, pushing her over 100 career points.
Colorado will now face the winner of No. 2-seeded Wake Forest vs. Morehead State. The date will be announced later this week.
How It Happened
The Buffs were the aggressors right out of the starting blocks on Friday. Shyra James got the game's first shot on goal in the fourth minute and Colorado outshot Georgia 3-1 in the first 14 minutes.
The Bulldogs had the game's first scoring opportunity in the 17th minute, with Hannah White cutting inside the box. She put a left-footed shot on target from close range, but Colorado's Jordan Nytes was in an excellent position to make the first of her four saves in the half.
Official video replay came into play midway through the first half. The first review was for a yellow card on Georgia's Cate Hardin, after a hard tackle on Colorado's Juliuana Hayward. The call stood as a yellow card in the 19th minute. The second review went the Buffs' way, following Hope Leyba getting tackled to the ground in the Georgia penalty area. The call, initially not giving as a penalty kick, was overturned, and Ava Priest slotted the first goal of the entire tournament to take a 1-0 lead.
"The amount of effort and determination, and we know it from her and her sister, is off the charts," Sanchez added about Leyba. "If you look at last year and the early part of this year, she wasn't getting rewarded for it, but now that was just a flat-out effort play to win the penalty, and then obviously Ava wanted it. She grabbed the ball, and there was no question she went up and buried it."
The Bulldogs pushed back, forcing back-to-back saves from Nytes in the 26th minute, but Georgia drew even with a header from Margie Detrizio in the 30th minute. Seven minutes later, the Dawgs took a 2-1 lead with White finding the back of the net in the 37th minute.
The Buffs didn't take long to get back to even in the second half, scoring in the 55th minute. Leyba drove down the far sideline and cut across the end line, firing a shot on net that was saved by Georgia's Jordan Brown. The rebound sat right in front of the net and Leyba made a diving effort to launch the ball in the top of the net to tie the game up at 2-2.
Georgia pressed over the next 10 minutes but couldn't get a shot through the CU defensive unit.
Trying to clear their zone, the Bulldogs passed the ball right to James, who was all alone off the top of the 18-yard box. She took two touches and put the ball past the charging keeper, capitalizing on the Georgia mistake and notching the game-winner in the 63rd minute.
"Soccer is a funny game," Sanchez explained. "I thought once Hope got that goal, we had a lot of momentum and kept pressing. Shyra was just really smart. She knows where to be and to pick that pass off, but more importantly, the composure to bury it was first class."
Playing with the lead, Colorado went to the corners in the last 10 minutes, trying to keep the ball out of danger. The Bulldogs hit the crossbar in the 86th minute, and Nytes made her largest stop of the night in the 87th minute to preserve the victory.
"To go on the road against a quality SEC team and get three goals and have a couple of other good chances as Shyra hit the post with a header at the end of the game that could have put it away, I think, says more about the group," Sanchez noted. "But the determination and focus has been there all year. Sometimes you don't get the instant gratification, but this was a good night to get some of that gratification."
Notes
Colorado improves to 11-13-1 all-time in the NCAA Tournament…The win was Colorado's first road tournament win since a 1-0 win at Denver in the first round of the 2013 NCAA Tournament…The Buffs are now 2-9-0 all-time on the road in tournament play…James' goal gives her 101 career points, becoming just the second player to reach 100 in program history…James now trails Taylor Kornieck's record 102 career points…Lebay leads the team this season with 18 points…Priest's goal was her fifth of the season…Her goal was the first for CU in the last three NCAA Tournament games…She now has 15 points this season and is tied with James for second on the team…Nytes' seven saves are tied for the third most by a CU keeper in a tournament game (JJ Tompkins, 7 vs. Norther Carolina, 2017)…Nytes now has 10 career saves as a Buff in the NCAA Tournament in two games, which is good for fifth all-time.
Team Stats
COL
UGA
Goals
3
2
Shots
11
23
Shots on Goal
7
9
Saves
7
4
Corners
4
7
Fouls
9
9
Scoring Plays
Ava Priest (4)
COL Ava Priest PENALTY KICK GOAL.
23:03
Margie Detrizio (9)
Assisted By: Hannah White
GOAL by UGA Detrizio, Margie Assist by White, Hannah.
29:25
Hannah White (4)
Assisted By: Aly Akers
GOAL by UGA White, Hannah Assist by Akers, Aly.
36:17
Hope Leyba (8)
GOAL by COL Leyba, Hope.
54:58
Shyra James (7)
GOAL by COL James, Shyra.
62:43
Game Leaders
Players
fwd
Shots
5
SOG
4
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
3
SOG
2
Goals
1
Assists
0
def
Shots
2
SOG
1
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
1
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
0
Players Mentioned
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