Thursday, August 21
7 p.m.
Colorado
vs
Fordham
Photo by: CUBuffs.com
Colorado’s Locked in on Week Two
August 20, 2025 | Soccer
Buffs Set for two more at Prentup Field
BOULDER, Colo. – The Colorado soccer team got off to a promising start to the season last week, drawing with No. 12 Michigan State and handily defeating Front Range rival Air Force.
Head coach Danny Sanchez was generally pleased with the Buffs' performance, but acknowledged that there are areas that need improvement.
"It was a good opening weekend," Sanchez said. "We knew the challenge of Michigan State. It was probably a tale of two halves. I thought the first half was us, and the second half was Michigan State, so it was probably a fair result. But a good learning experience for us.
"I thought we played really well in stretches [against Air Force]. Having rewatched the film and kind of looked at the data, we actually probably played a little bit better than I gave us credit for. We scored some really good goals."
The Buffaloes (1-0-1) will now look ahead to matches against Fordham and UNC Greensboro this week—two opponents with next to no history with CU.
Thursday's match (7 p.m.) against Fordham will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools, while the Buffs and UNC Greensboro played early last season in North Carolina.
Fordham played just the one match to open the season last week, putting up four goals in its shutout win over Marist. The Rams went 10-5-4 last season and fell in the A-10 quarterfinals to Saint Joseph's.
"Fordham, you know, coming in, we have a lot of respect for their coach, Magnus [Nilerud], and their program and what they did last year," Sanchez said. "I think they'll make a run at the Atlantic 10 this year. They have some really talented individual players that can break down any defense, so we're going to have to be aware of those players, and we're going to have to punish them when we go to the other end. But I expect a very competitive match."
Colorado escaped the humidity of Greensboro last season with a 1-0 win, but CU didn't get the score across until the 71st minute.
"You know, we had a very tough match last year, non-conference play, a 1-0 win at their place," Sanchez said. "A bit of an advantage for them not having to play on Thursday and come in for the one match. We're excited to get them to Boulder, but we know that's going to be another challenging non-conference match for us."
Sanchez and the Buffs opened the season with a top-15 opponent in Michigan State, just the sixth time in 30 seasons that CU has opened against a ranked opponent.
This week's focus has still been on making every minute count. Sanchez said he doesn't have any trouble motivating his players, and with the limited number of regular-season games, there's no room for complacency.
"We only have 19 regular-season games, so it's not like some sports where you have 25 or 30 opportunities," Sanchez said. "We only have a limited amount of games, and each game is important when you start looking at the NCAA tournament and RPI. There are really none that are less important than the others.
"Every game coming up is always the most important game, but especially against a new opponent, under the lights, on Thursday, and then another relatively new opponent on Sunday. We'll be focused and pay attention to the details."
Six different Buffs got on the score sheet over the opening two matches last week, including Jace Holley and Hope Leyba, who each scored two goals.
Sanchez has also been impressed with players like Caley Swierenga, on defense, and Reagan Kotschau, across the midfield.
"I was really pleased with Jace, who obviously had a great weekend," Sanchez expressed. "I think Caley in the back was very good all weekend and Reagan as well in the midfield, as far as maybe not players we normally don't think about.
"Faith and Hope [Leyba] were fantastic as always, and Jordi [Nytes] in goal. It was a good opening weekend, and we're excited for this weekend."
Thursday's match will be the first for the Buffs with students fully back in Boulder. There will be CU student raffle prizes throughout the night, along with root beer floats.
Brad Thompson will be on the call all season long on ESPN+.
For more information on Colorado Soccer, please visit cubuffs.com/soccer. Fans of the Buffs can follow @cubuffssoccer on Instagram, X, TikTok and Facebook.
Head coach Danny Sanchez was generally pleased with the Buffs' performance, but acknowledged that there are areas that need improvement.
"It was a good opening weekend," Sanchez said. "We knew the challenge of Michigan State. It was probably a tale of two halves. I thought the first half was us, and the second half was Michigan State, so it was probably a fair result. But a good learning experience for us.
"I thought we played really well in stretches [against Air Force]. Having rewatched the film and kind of looked at the data, we actually probably played a little bit better than I gave us credit for. We scored some really good goals."
The Buffaloes (1-0-1) will now look ahead to matches against Fordham and UNC Greensboro this week—two opponents with next to no history with CU.
Thursday's match (7 p.m.) against Fordham will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools, while the Buffs and UNC Greensboro played early last season in North Carolina.
Fordham played just the one match to open the season last week, putting up four goals in its shutout win over Marist. The Rams went 10-5-4 last season and fell in the A-10 quarterfinals to Saint Joseph's.
"Fordham, you know, coming in, we have a lot of respect for their coach, Magnus [Nilerud], and their program and what they did last year," Sanchez said. "I think they'll make a run at the Atlantic 10 this year. They have some really talented individual players that can break down any defense, so we're going to have to be aware of those players, and we're going to have to punish them when we go to the other end. But I expect a very competitive match."
Colorado escaped the humidity of Greensboro last season with a 1-0 win, but CU didn't get the score across until the 71st minute.
"You know, we had a very tough match last year, non-conference play, a 1-0 win at their place," Sanchez said. "A bit of an advantage for them not having to play on Thursday and come in for the one match. We're excited to get them to Boulder, but we know that's going to be another challenging non-conference match for us."
Sanchez and the Buffs opened the season with a top-15 opponent in Michigan State, just the sixth time in 30 seasons that CU has opened against a ranked opponent.
This week's focus has still been on making every minute count. Sanchez said he doesn't have any trouble motivating his players, and with the limited number of regular-season games, there's no room for complacency.
"We only have 19 regular-season games, so it's not like some sports where you have 25 or 30 opportunities," Sanchez said. "We only have a limited amount of games, and each game is important when you start looking at the NCAA tournament and RPI. There are really none that are less important than the others.
"Every game coming up is always the most important game, but especially against a new opponent, under the lights, on Thursday, and then another relatively new opponent on Sunday. We'll be focused and pay attention to the details."
Six different Buffs got on the score sheet over the opening two matches last week, including Jace Holley and Hope Leyba, who each scored two goals.
Sanchez has also been impressed with players like Caley Swierenga, on defense, and Reagan Kotschau, across the midfield.
"I was really pleased with Jace, who obviously had a great weekend," Sanchez expressed. "I think Caley in the back was very good all weekend and Reagan as well in the midfield, as far as maybe not players we normally don't think about.
"Faith and Hope [Leyba] were fantastic as always, and Jordi [Nytes] in goal. It was a good opening weekend, and we're excited for this weekend."
Thursday's match will be the first for the Buffs with students fully back in Boulder. There will be CU student raffle prizes throughout the night, along with root beer floats.
Brad Thompson will be on the call all season long on ESPN+.
For more information on Colorado Soccer, please visit cubuffs.com/soccer. Fans of the Buffs can follow @cubuffssoccer on Instagram, X, TikTok and Facebook.
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