Colorado
5-1-0, 0-0-0
Denver
4-3-0, 0-0-0
Priest Helps Buffs Prevail Late
September 05, 2024 | Soccer
Colorado picks up 13th straight win over in-state rival Denver
BOULDER — It was the right place at the right time for Ava Priest Thursday night at Prentup Field, as the sophomore slotted the night's lone goal in No. 18 Colorado's 1-0 victory over Denver. The win marked the 21st overall against the Pioneers and the 13th in a row.
It took until the 78th minute for the Buffs to break the stalemate, with Priest pouncing on a rebound from right on top of the goal line to clean up a Shyra James free kick.
"It was a free kick just outside the box," Priest recalled. "Jay [Hayward] got fouled and I knew Shyra was going to hit that. I knew that rebound was coming. I just finished it up."
The Buffs and Pioneers played a scoreless first half despite each team getting good looks on the net. Jordan Nytes made two saves in the first 45 minutes, while her counterpart in net, Alina Santos, registered five stops.
"It's a rivalry match," head coach Danny Sanchez explained about playing Denver. "They are going to bring everything, but I thought we brought everything tonight. It's not always going to be the prettiest game, but I felt over the 90 minutes, we had more of the quality chances. We felt it was only a matter of time [until we scored]. However, some of those games go sideways quickly.
"I was really pleased with how we defended in the second half. Jordi only really had to deal with one shot, and everything was from distance, and she dealt with that well. We were dangerous on our set pieces. It was a great dribble from Juliauna. She was fantastic tonight to win the free kick. Shyra puts the free kick on frame and Ava had a great follow-up. It was a great win for the Buffs."
Colorado (5-1-0) returned to action after an unexpected week off, having not played since last Thursday at UNC Greensboro.
"It was disappointing," Sanchez explained about the cancellation at NC State. "We want to play, and we're trying to find another match, but there's nothing yet. We flew back on Monday morning disappointed and went straight to training. The mentality was great. Normally, we just do a stretch and call it a day, but we did a legit training session on Monday, so we were able to get two good days of training in on Monday and Tuesday and went light yesterday. But I really liked our mentality."
The Buffs totaled a season-high 26 shots, out-chancing the Pioneers by eight. Sophomore Hope Leyba led all players with seven shots on the night. James landed four of her five shots on target and drew one step closer to CU's all-time points record, sitting at 97 with the assist to Priest.
The loss for Denver snaps its four-game winning streak, dropping the Pioneers to 4-3-0 on the season.
How It Happened
The Buffs had their chances early in the evening, earning three consecutive corner kicks inside the first 10 minutes, but couldn't get the ball across the goal line.
Nytes got into the action in the 14th minute, making a leaping save at the crossbar to send the ball wide of the net. She finished the night flawless, making five saves in her fourth shutout of the year.
The Buffs' best scoring chance of the half came in the 34th minute off another corner opportunity. Rachel Rosen served the ball from the near corner to the back post, with James putting a solid header on net that was cleared off the goal line by the Denver defense.
Chances in the second half became few and far between, with both sides limiting opportunities.
Hayward had the best opportunity to break the scoreless tie in the 73rd minute, launching a shot off the crossbar from 24 yards out.
Moments later, Hayward got her heel clipped, drawing a foul just atop the 18-yard box and setting up the James free kick.
James kept the ball low, firing her shot on net under the leaping Pioneer wall, forcing a diving stop by Santos. Priest slipped in from just outside the post and won the race to the rebound, placing the shot over the outstretched DU keeper and into the top of the net for her first goal of the season.
"It's a mentality," Sanchez said about getting the rebound. "It's a mentality and a hunger. I told the team at halftime that it's not going to be the prettiest goal that wins this game. I said it. It's going to be someone who keeps the ball alive, and someone can be the hero and tap it in. That's kind of what happened tonight. It's a game with such small margins, and that was the difference tonight."
Up Next
Colorado closes the non-conference portion of the schedule on Sunday, hosting Weber State at Noon.
Notes
Colorado improves to 21-8-1 all-time against Denver…Priest's goal was the seventh set-piece tally of the season…Colorado has a set-piece goal in every game this season…The Buffs are now 90-0-11 when not allowing a goal under Coach Sanchez's tenure (4-0-0 this season)…For Nytes, it was her 12th shutout at CU and the 18th of her career…Thursday's win was Nytes' 18th win as a Buff, putting her two behind Kara Linder for seventh on CU's all-time wins list…James is now five points shy of Taylor Kornieck's program record of 102 points…Her assist tonight was the seventh of her career.
Quotes
Head Coach Danny Sanchez
On Colorado's ranking – "I think it's good for the fans. I think it's good for the energy of the team. It gives them some confidence. We all know at the end of the day that it's not a deciding factor as far as [NCAA] tournament or being a Big 12 [tournament] team. But it's nice, and I think we've earned our ranking. Hopefully, we can keep the momentum going."
On being the 13th straight win over Denver – "I think it means that we're playing a really good team, and we have to bring our best game every time, and we have."
On halftime adjustments – "Denver is a good team. They knocked the ball around well. I thought we defended well in the midfield. After the first 10 minutes of the game, once we found a rhythm in what we were doing, I was pleased with how we did it. We did a better job of picking up second balls. Those are the differences in tight games like this. I thought we had the run of those '50/50' challenges, especially in the second half. There was some good soccer out there by the Buffs."
Sophomore Ava Priest
On being ready for the rebound – "I'd say in practice it's always the little things and small things like rebounds that become big things in games."
On not playing last Sunday – "We had a few extra practices and put in the extra work to be ready for this game—props to DU. Every time we play them, it's a good game. It's always a rivalry."
On playing in this game as a Colorado Native – "It's always a big game for us. It's arguably the biggest game of the season. It's always something we look forward to and prepare for."
Team Stats
Ava Priest (1)
Assisted By: Shyra James
GOAL by CU Priest, Ava Assist by James, Shyra.
77:44
