No. 13 Buffaloes Upset No. 10 West Virginia

Thursday, September 24

Boulder, Colo.

7 p.m.

Colorado

8-1-1, 2-0-0

West Virginia

5-1-2, 0-1-1

Team	1	2	Final F
West Virginia	0	0	0
Colorado	1	1	2

September 24, 2026 | Soccer

Box Score Post-Game Press Conference Donate To Soccer Buy Soccer Tickets

By: Marcelo Brant, Athletic Communications Student Assistant

BOULDER – The Colorado Buffaloes soccer team (8-1-1, 2-0-0 Big 12) defeated West Virginia (5-1-2, 0-1-1 Big 12) 2-0 in their conference home opener Thursday night at Prentup Field.

CU claimed its fifth straight win of the season with goals from forward Hope Leyba and midfielder Reagan Kotschau. The victory snapped West Virginia's 22-match regular season unbeaten streak.

"This is a good team, and I thought, especially in the second half, we played really well," head coach Danny Sanchez said. "Our midfielders were great, and obviously the back four and Brooke [Goerish] were fantastic tonight. We really limited their opportunities in the second half. Really pleased with the result tonight."

Leyba's scissor-kick goal marked the 39th of her career, tying Taylor Kornieck for the third most goals in program history. The same goal marked the 85th point of her career, moving Leyba into fourth on Colorado's all-time points list.

Freshman goalkeeper Goerish recorded her fourth clean sheet of the season, tallying three saves to secure the shutout.

"Obviously, a clean sheet is the goal," Goerish said. "It's written up on the locker room board, 'no goals'; that's the goal every time. Definitely just coming in with that mindset and sticking to it."

A crowd of 1,513 packed Prentup Field for the win, marking the second-highest attendance of the season to tie the program record for the longest home winning streak with its 13th consecutive victory, matching the mark originally set in 2004.

"Another great crowd on a Thursday night with a chance of rain," Sanchez said. "Obviously, it ended up being a beautiful evening, but I can't thank the fans enough for coming out and supporting us. I think that gives us a lot of energy, and we play with confidence at home."

"A lot of us are from here, so our families get to come to every game," Leyba said. "The crowd's really awesome, so we have a lot of support, and we feed off of it; it helps us do better."

HOW IT HAPPENED
Out of the gate, the West Virginia offense showed strides. An early shot in the 4th minute was saved by Goerish, keeping Colorado's defense on their toes.

Minutes later, forward Michaela McGowan reclaimed the ball from the Mountaineer defense, firing a shot to the bottom left corner of the goal before it was saved.

Goerish recorded her second save of the night in the 17th minute, deflecting a shot to the upper left corner.

A physical game that ended with four West Virginia yellow cards broke open in the 35th minute.

A foul on forward Kai Santomarco-King set up a Colorado free kick taken by Emma Thielbar, who found Sloane Phillips on the right side of the box. The midfielder connected with Kotschau, who headed it to Leyba. The forward then lashed a spectacular volley into the back of the net, giving the Buffs a 1-0 lead.

At halftime, the Buffaloes had recorded six shots, compared to West Virginia's five. CU led with shots on goal 5-2, while the Mountaineers had a 4-1 advantage over CU in corner kicks.

In the 68th minute, Santomarco-King was brought down by a West Virginia defender in the box. After a review requested by Sanchez, the Buffs were awarded a penalty kick. Kotschau converted the kick with a low-driven shot into the bottom right corner, sealing the score 2-0.

UP NEXT: The Buffaloes will continue their two-match week, traveling to Lubbock, Texas, Sunday, Sept. 27. Kickoff is set for 12 p.m. against 25th-ranked Texas Tech. The match will be broadcast on ESPNU.

SOCIALS: For more information on Colorado Soccer, please visit cubuffs.com/soccer. Fans of the Buffs can follow @cubuffssoccer on Instagram, X, TikTok, and Facebook.