SOCCER EDGES GEORGIA 2-1 IN OVERTIME

Sunday, August 31

Boulder, Colo.

12:00 p.m.

Colorado

1-1-0

Georgia

1-1-0

OT 2

Georgia

Colorado

SOCCER TO HOST KANSAS/OK-STATE IN BIG 12 WEEKEND

August 31, 2003 | Soccer

Box Score

By: CUBuffs.com

BOULDER - Colorado freshman Katie Griffin netted her first two career goals, including the golden goal in the overtime session, to lift the Buffs past Georgia, 2-1, at the Pleasant View Soccer Complex here Sunday With the win, Colorado improves to 1-1 while Georgia fell to 1-1 after a win at Wyoming Friday.

'We felt that if we ran them enough they would get tired and slow down defensively. They have a great program and this is a great win for us,' said head coach Bill Hempen.

Scoring opportunities from Tricia Regan and Fran Munnelly fell short in the ninth and 20th minutes, and CU keeper Jessica Keller had a pair of back-to-back saves that prevented the Bulldogs from taking the early lead. In the 33rd minute of play, Georgia forward Ashley King took a shot from the right corner 25 yards out and Keller's save was rebounded to Elizabeth Metherell, whose shot on goal was punched out by Keller.

CU defender Ashlie Mihalcin, who had several key defensive stances against Portland on Friday, rose to the occasion again Sunday, and had her second goal-line save in as many games.

'There were a couple of times when she stepped up and made some great plays and I just said, 'Thank God,' complimented Hempen. 'She's a great player and can really hold her own.'

Griffin put the Buffs up 1-0 on CU's fourth and the game's final shot of the opening half in the 36th minute. Seconds earlier, teammate Jessica Ceresino shot at Georgia keeper Ashley Lindley, who let the ball rebound in Griffin's direction for the putback.

'It's a good feeling,' said Griffin on the score. This is a new position for me. I usually play center and now I'm at forward" so far I'm liking it!'

Colorado's Mia Pascoe nearly made it a 2-0 game when she beat a Bulldog defender in a game of one on one and her shot in the 47th minute deflected off the left post and back into play. The Buffs outshot Georgia 9-1 in the first 30 minutes of the second half, but couldn't capitalize before Georgia would make a run of its own, outshooting the Buffs 6-0 during the game's next minutes before netting the equalizer.

In an almost mirrored situation to Friday's 1-0 loss to Portland, the Buffs kept Georgia on its heels for 86 minutes before a Kelly Whitaker pass up field was picked up by CU's Regan who passed it back to Keller. The ball inadvertently deflected off Keller when she went to scoop up the ball and it fell into Georgia forward Jessica Winton's hands who put the ball back into the right side of the net. On Friday, Colorado had held the Pilots scoreless for 87 minutes when they capitalized on a CU defensive breakdown.

'After that last goal, it was so disappointing because that is what happened on Friday. I just thought, 'the sooner we score,' the sooner it will be over', added Griffin. 'There aren't that many opportunities, so we had to take advantage of the ones that we had.'

CU's Jen Thais nearly ended the game when her shot in the 87th minute, was deflected by both Lindley and the top right corner of the crossbar.

But it would take Fran Munnelly bringing the ball across midfield and dishing it off to Griffin, who was five yards from the net, who beat Lindley and laid the ball in the right corner of the net for her first career game-winner.

Colorado opens its first of three games away from Boulder Saturday, Sept. 6 at Denver in a 2 p.m. kickoff on Pioneer Field. The Pioneers are 2-0 in the early season with a 3-0 blanking of Northern Colorado and 4-3 upset of second-ranked Portland.

'We need to work on not making defensive mistakes from about 20 yards in,' said Hempen on what the Buffs need to work on after the opening weekend. 'They try sometimes to make too hard a pass.'