SOCCER FALLS IN OT TO SAN DIEGO

Thursday, September 2

Denver, Colo.

2 p.m.

Colorado

1-1-1

San Diego

2-1-0

OT 2

San Diego

Colorado

MIHALCIN AND SANTILLANA NAMED CO-CU ATHLETES OF THE WEEK

September 02, 2004 | Soccer

Box Score

By: CUBuffs.com

DENVER - The University of Colorado soccer team suffered its first loss of the season when San Diego's Amy Epston scored her second goal of the game in overtime to lift the Toreros over the Buffs 2-1 in the opening game of the Denver Soccer Classic at the University of Denver's Pioneer Field here Thursday.

The loss drops Colorado to 1-1-1 on the young season while San Diego improves to 2-1-0.

Colorado won the coin toss but a young San Diego team with three freshmen and three sophomores in the starting lineup had a veteran Buff team on their heels to start the game, forcing the game's first corner in just the first minute of play.

But Colorado got the game's first shot off when an Ellen Falender corner kick in the fourth minute was headed by Shannon Kellogg, making her first start since the 2002 season, whose shot went wide left. For the ensuing minutes, CU's only shots would come off corner opportunities.

San Diego had a number of chances in the opening stanza but several attacks in the box were cleared by the Colorado defense. The Buffs received an offensive spark in the 22nd minute when senior co-captain Jen Thais came off the bench and on to the pitch for the first time this season after nursing an ACL injury suffered in April during the spring season. But they received a brief scare when sophomore defender Laura Munnelly left the field for the first time of her career with what appeared to be a hip injury, but returned to the pitch minutes later.

Ashlie Mihalcin netted her second goal of the season, second in as many games, when Katie Griffin's pass at the top of the box was one-timed by Mihalcin into the lower left corner of the net beating a diving Karen Cook in the 35th minute.

San Diego tied the game at a goal a piece less than six minutes later when a Colorado defensive breakdown in the box found the Toreros' Marie-Claude Henry with the ball on the left side and her cross met Amy Epsten just yards from the right post extended and her shot into the low right corner of the net was the first of the season allowed by Buff keeper Jessica Keller in the 42nd minute.

Jessica Ceresino tried to put the Buffs ahead going into the halftime break, but her shot in the 43rd minute went wide right. On paper, the Buffs dominated the opening half with four shots to USD's two and four of the half's seven corners.

The second 45 minutes of play went without a score, CU's fourth scoreless half of the season with just one shot from each side, sending the Buffs into their second overtime contest of the early season.

San Diego dominated the overtime and on the Toreros second corner just four minutes into the extra session, Vanessa Vella's corner kick deflected off Shannon Sullivan before Epsten scored in a scramble in front of Keller in the 94th minute.

The Buffs continue play in the Denver Soccer Classic on Saturday, Sept. 4 when they take on Eastern Michigan in an 11 a.m. kickoff at Denver's Pioneer Field.