Soccer Rolls Past Utah 4-2 In Home Opener

Thursday, September 6

Boulder, Colo.

4:00 PM

Colorado

2-0-1

Utah

1-2-0

Utah

Colorado

Photo by: CUBuffs.com

September 06, 2007 | Soccer

Box Score

By: Aaron Lopez, Denver Nuggets

BOULDER - Thanks to a plethora of first half goals, the No. 18 University of Colorado women's soccer team defeated the University of Utah Utes 4-2 on Thursday, in the Buffs' home opener.

Colorado (2-0-1) took an early lead when they were rewarded a corner kick in the first minute of the game. Freshman Natalie Weeks stepped up to take the kick and sent a perfect ball into the middle of the goal that found the foot of fellow freshman Michaela DeJesus. DeJesus volleyed the ball over the keepers head and into the back of the net. DeJesus' score came just 52 seconds into the match, going down as the quickest goal in the 11 year history of the program, shattering the previous record by 41 seconds.

"It was a great ball from Natalie (Weeks)," DeJesus, who recorded her second goal of the year, said. "I was left open at the top of the box and saw the open far post, so I took the shot."

Junior forward Gianna DeSaverio kept things going for the Buffaloes as she took a ball down the middle of the Utah defense, weaving through three Ute players. After a big touch to break through the final defender, she exploded into the box and hit a ball around the keeper to give Colorado a 2-0 lead.

The Buffs kept up the pressure in the 33rd minute when Weeks placed a pass in the left side of the box to a running Amanda Foulk, who battled with a Ute defender and passed the ball to Nikki Marshall in the middle. Marshall finished the play by beating the keeper with an un-savable blast into the net.

The Buffaloes continued to attack at the end of the first half, when Allison Kidd took off down the left line and took a through pass from Foulk, shooting the ball across goal and past the keeper in bottom right corner in the 43rd minute.

"Last Sunday we couldn't find the net," head coach Bill Hempen said. "Against Fairfield we took 15 shots and got one goal. Today we had seven shots [in the first half] and four goals, so that's kind of how it goes sometimes."

Colorado went into the second half with a 4-0 lead over Utah, but the Utes weren't going to let them off easy. Adele Letro got the Utes on the board when she took a pass from Kelly Isleib and sent a shot that skipped across the ground past Colorado goalkeeper, Kirstin Radlinski.

The Utes (1-2-0) would strike again in with 14 minutes left to play in the game, when Katy Reinke took a pass off a corner kick at the top of the 18. Reinke took a few touches before sending the ball through the Colorado defense, going untouched and into the goal.

"We backed into a shell in the second half," Hempen said. "We talked about absorbing their attacks, and after absorbing we needed to posses the ball. We did a poor job of possessing in the second half and that resulted in their good looks at the goal."

The Buffs will be back in action on Saturday, September 8, as they host the BYU Cougars at 4 p.m. MDT in Boulder.

Admission and parking is free at all Colorado soccer games. Prentup Field is located at 33rd Street and Colorado Avenue in Boulder. For more information, directions and maps to Prentup Field, visit www.cubuffs.com/soccer.