Soccer Plays to a 1-1 Tie With Fairfield

Sunday, September 2

Denver, Colo.

11:00 AM

Colorado

1-0-1

Fairfield

1-0-1

OT 3

OT 4

Fairfield

Colorado

Photo by: CUBuffs.com

September 02, 2007 | Soccer

Box Score

By: Jordan Edwards, Student Assistant SID

DENVER - The No. 14 University of Colorado women's soccer team tied the Fairfield University Stags 1-1 in the final game of the University of Denver Invitational on Sunday.

Colorado (1-0-1) was in control early on, when the Buffs nearly got on the board as senior Allison Kidd played the ball to the 6 yard box, taking a pair of hard shots, only to be stopped by a pair of brilliant saves by Fairfield goal keeper Brett Maron. Maron repeatedly turned away the Buffs' attempts to score, racking up 14 saves on the day.

Another goal scoring opportunity came in the 11th minute, as All-Tournament selection Nikki Marshall played the ball across the front of the goal, just out of the reach of freshman Michaela DeJesus, to a Stag defender who cleared the ball out of play.

Fairfield (1-0-1) scored the first goal of the day in the 27th minute, when Ahna Johnson took the ball to the top left side of the 18 and through three Colorado defenders, finding herself wide open, chipping the ball into the upper right corner of the goal, over the outstretched hands of Buff keeper Kirstin Radlinski.

Just a minute later, Fairfield's Alex Caram sent a shot that clipped the lower half of the cross bar and back into play, with the rebound being headed over to goal.

The Buffs came out after halftime looking to push the tempo, with DeJesus taking a Marshall pass in the right side of the box, blasting the ball into the back of the net in the 51st minute. DeJesus' first collegiate goal comes in just her second match with the Buffaloes, equalizing CU 1-1.

"Today was unlucky," said DeJesus. "We had our chances and they had theirs. Today could have been better but sometimes that's just how the game goes."

As the second half wore on play became more physical, as both teams looked to find any advantage they could. Kelly Steele of Fairfield was booked with a caution in the 61st minute, while seven fouls were assessed to each team in the second half. The Buffaloes took 15 shots on goal in the second half to Fairfield's one.

"That's just the way the game is," said Hempen. "Some days you're a quarter of an inch on and some days you're a quarter of an inch off. The two teams battled and we did everything that we could do, but the ball just didn't go in today."

The game was still knotted 1-1 after regulation time, when the game entered into two periods of golden-goal extra time. Radlinski made an amazing save in the 95th minute, after Amanda Vargo took a misplaced ball from CU and blasted a shot to the top left of the frame. Radlinski leaped in the air, punching the ball out of play, saving the match for the Buffs.

In the second period of extra-time, freshman Courtney Charlesworth came up big for the Buffs, during the 102nd minute. Charlesworth cut off a Fairfield striker to clear a dangerous ball that was played just yard off of the CU goal line. Colorado had a scoring chance late in the game off of an Alex Cousins corner kick that ended up at the foot of All-Tournament selection Michelle Wenino. Wenino controlled the ball amidst a group of players, taking a quick shot that was sent just high of the net. The game ended in a 1-1 draw, with Colorado outshooting the Stags 27-7.

"The defense is young but we're learning how to communicate with each other better," said Wenino. "We played a different set-up defensively today and it felt like we had more room. We're getting better and learning when to make runs and get the ball out."

Colorado will be back in action this Thursday, September 6, in Boulder for their home-opener against the Utah Utes at Prentup Field.

"We went directly into this weekend from preseason," said Hempen. "We call it the rust time. This week is about maintenance, getting our players healthy and collecting ourselves."

"It's good that we're going to have the rest of today and tomorrow off," said DeJesus. "We need to relax and take care of our bodies. We want to make sure that we're back in good shape for the BYU game on Thursday."

Colorado's All-Tournament Team Selections:
#17 - Nikki Marshall
#3 - Michelle Wenino