Soccer Claims 1-0 Shutout Win Over Kansas

LAWRENCE, Kan. - The University of Colorado women's soccer team rebounded from a two-game Big 12 road skid and topped the University of Kansas 1-0 here Sunday afternoon.

Colorado claimed its first true road win of the season and remains at the top of the Big 12 standings with an 8-7 overall record and 5-2 mark in Big 12 play. Kansas fell to 9-5-1 overall and 1-4 in conference action.

"We had enough of the ball in the game, but we just didn't finish our plays with shots," said head coach Bill Hempen. "If we want to be who we say we want to be, we have to win. The grass is not always green and the sun is not always out and sometimes you just have to find a way to get through the game and we did that today."

Held scoreless by the Missouri Tigers on Friday night, it would take just one Colorado shot for the Buffs to get on the board in Lawrence. Freshman Erin Bricker, who leads the team in assists with three on the season, netted her first career goal in the 16th minute of the match. Bricker carried the ball through the Jayhawk defense and put it away in the back of the net for the early 1-0 lead.

"What a great way for Erin to get her first collegiate goal," added Hempen. "We were away from home in a truly meaningful game that helps your team. She beat the defender and it was as quiet of a goal as she is a person. It wasn't a rocket. She saw where to put it and rolled it in. It was a great goal for her to start her career in scoring."

Kansas outshot the Buffaloes six to five in the first half, with both teams recording only one shot on goal.

In the 50th minute, KU's Emily Cressy nearly tied up the game when she sent a hard shot over senior goalkeeper Kara Linder's head, but the ball hit the crossbar and bounced back into play.

The Colorado defense was put to the test in the second half and Kansas was going to make the Buffaloes earn their win. Kansas continued to create scoring opportunities and dominate the offensive action, outshooting the Buffs 14 to two in the second half alone and 20 to seven total in the game. Colorado recorded two shots on goal to KU's four.

"From about 25 minutes left in the game on, I'll be honest, they were in our end a lot," said Hempen. "They hit the crossbar twice and fired a number of shots, but we persevered. The first thing the team said to me after the game was, 'we won ugly!' Like I've said before, that's going to happen. People aren't going to look at the box scores, they're going to look at our record and just want to know who we beat. We won on the road today against what I think is a very good Kansas team, and we'll take the 1-0 win."

The game marked the fifth 1-0 shutout win for the Buffs this season and the third in conference play.

Colorado has a rare 12-day break before returning to the pitch on Friday, Oct. 23 when the Buffs face Texas A&M at 6 p.m. in College Station. CU will then travel to Austin and face Texas two days later on Sunday, Oct. 25 at noon.

"With this break, the most important thing will be healing," said Hempen. "This is a perfect time for some of our players to lay low and heal. Hopefully we'll have the same kind of reaction as we do coming out of preseason, after 12 days of practice I hope they can't wait to get back out there and play."

Check out the latest news and highlights with head coach Bill Hempen on the Buffalo Stampede: Soccer Edition exclusively on BuffsTV at cubuffs.com/soccer. New shows air every Tuesday. Simply click on the media player on the right hand side of the CU Soccer homepage for free insight into Colorado Soccer.

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Team Stats

Erin Bricker

Amy Barczuk

Quinn Krier

Kassidy Fitzpatrick

Players Mentioned

Erin Bricker

Kara Linder

Players Mentioned

Erin Bricker

Kara Linder