SOCCER BLANKS NO.9 DENVER 3-0

Saturday, September 6

Denver, Colo.

2:00 PM

Colorado

2-1-0

Denver

2-1-0

Colorado

Denver

SOCCER'S MUNNELLY SCORES ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

September 06, 2003 | Soccer

Box Score

By: CUBuffs.com

DENVER - Fran Munnelly's goal in the ninth minute proved to be the game-winner as Colorado registered its first win over a top-10 program when it blanked ninth-ranked Denver, 3-0 at Pioneer Field here Saturday, knotting the six-game series at three games apiece.

'Our kids were jacked up and ready to go,' said head coach Bill Hempen who got his first win in three attempts over good friend and DU head coach Jeff Hooker. 'The first 20 minutes was as good as it gets and once we settled in, it was a good game up and down the park. We were good enough to put pressure on them and capitalize early.'

With the win, Colorado improves to 2-1 while Denver falls to 2-1 in the early season.

Colorado won the coin toss, took the ensuing kickoff and dominated the Pioneers in the opening stanza, taking seven shots to Denver's two and coming away with the advantage in corners (4-1).

Just four minutes into the game, CU junior Alyssa Burgess became the match's first victim as she was behind DU's Jenni Harris when the two went up for a header on a loose ball. Contact between the two resulted in a laceration above Burgess' left eyebrow that required eight stitches on site. Burgess re-entered the game in the 80th minute.

Colorado took the game's first lead in the ninth minute when freshman Kathryn Grandinetti took the ball well behind the midfield line and lobbed a 30-yard pass to Munnelly who beat DU defender Maggie Kirchoff for the shot on goal. DU keeper Danielle Wiley gave up a rebound on the save which Munnelly regained possession of for the put back into the left corner for the 1-0 advantage.

'You just always know that she's going to be there,' said Grandinetti on her thru pass to Munnelly. 'I just looked up and saw her going. It was perfect timing on Fran's part.'

The Buffs nearly made it a 2-0 contest in the 13th minute when a penalty kick wasn't called when Katie Griffin was tripped in the box, and Munnelly's ensuing shot which was just low of the cross bar was tipped over by Wiley.

CU responded just a minute later when Grandinetti crossed the ball from the left flank to Maddy Minnis who made a high pass to Jen Thais who headed it in for her first score of the season in the 14th minute of the half. Colorado's last solid scoring opportunity of the half came in the 19th minute when a Grandinetti pass to Minnis was tapped high of the net.

'This is a huge win,' said Thais. 'It's an in-state rivalry and the first step" to be the best in the state. I'd like to be in the top-20. When you beat the ninth-ranked team 3-0, that sends a pretty good statement.'

Colorado came out of the intermission as dominant as it had left, as Griffin's shot on goal in the 46th minute fell just wide, into the side of the net. An Orly Ripmaster cross from the right flank to Grandinetti to Griffin in the box sailed high and Munnelly's shot from point-blank distance in the 54th minute was saved by Wylie on the right post. Grandinetti nearly netted her first goal of the season when Grandinetti faked Wylie who had come out of the box, and beat DU defender Carlynn McCallum, but the ball was fumbled out of play.

After being issued a verbal warning in the 73rd minute, Thais was called for a yellow card when she went up for a header with Denver's Harris. It resulted in Denver's best opportunity for a goal, but the free kick taken by Jamie Norwood was tipped left of the net by Keller. The Denver corner that followed with 16 minutes left on the clock was headed out by Thais. CU freshman Jessica Cerresino secured the CU win when she received a cross from Orly Ripmaster off the right flank and put the ball in the right corner of the net.

Jessica Ceresino sealed the CU win when she took a cross from Orly Ripmaster off the right flank and laid the ball into the right corner of the net in the 83rd minute for her first career score.

While CU controlled the game's offense outshooting DU 12-6 in the final box score, the Buff defense held off several Pioneer attacks with Thais, Tricia Regan and Ashlie Mihalcin clearing passes out of the box on headers and Mihalcin making her third save in as many games, preventing Jessica Keller from having to make one of her own in the 90 minute contest while DU's Wylie had four.

Today's was the first in the series where a Colorado win could have national implications as the Buffs were receiving votes in last week's coaches' poll.

'The reality is that it's early in the season and the polls change so much. If we're fortunate to jump in, it's good for the fans. But trying to maintain that is the big issue,' Hempen said.

The Buffs continue their longest road swing of the season Tuesday, Sept. 9 at Wyoming (2-1) in a 3 p.m. kickoff.