Soccer Suffers 1-0 Overtime Loss to Texas

Sunday, October 25

Austin, Texas

Noon

Colorado

8-9-0, 5-4-0Big 12

Texas

8-7-3, 4-2-3Big 12

OT 3

OT 4

Colorado

Texas

Photo by: Tony Harman

October 25, 2009 | Soccer

Box Score

By: Allie Musso, Assistant SID

AUSTIN, Texas - The University of Colorado women's soccer team dropped its second-straight conference game to the University of Texas 1-0 here Sunday afternoon in the Buffaloes final regular season road test.

Colorado continues to struggle away from Boulder and falls to 8-9-0 overall and 5-4-0 in Big 12 play, while Texas improves to 8-7-3 on the year and 4-2-3 in league action.

"We knew Texas was going to be a difficult team to play," said head coach Bill Hempen. "They have been plagued by injuries but still managed to fight for the win. They rallied around their injured players and each other and were able to hold us off and give themselves a chance to win the game and they did."

Colorado held Texas scoreless for the first 24 minutes of the game and CU's strongest scoring opportunity during that time came at the 18th minute mark. Senior midfielder Kelly Menachof fired a hard shot toward the Longhorns' goal but UT's goalkeeper, Alexa Gaul, left her feet and made a diving save.

The Buffaloes dominated the first half offensive statistics, outshooting the Longhorns five to two.

Colorado came out strong in the second half and fought hard to be the first team on the board. Freshman Shaye Marshall nearly did so when her sister Nikki Marshall sent a cross into the box in the 49th minute of the match. Shaye Marshall beat a UT defender and headed the ball towards the goal, but missed just high of the frame.

In the 75th minute, the Texas offense managed to creep back into Colorado's defensive third and Kate Nicholson sent a hard shot towards the goal, but CU keeper Kara Linder made a strong diving save in the air to keep the Longhorns out of the net.

After 90 minutes of scoreless soccer, the game was sent into overtime. The stats evened out a little bit going into overtime, with Texas outshooting the Buffs 11 to 10.

Texas executed a quick shot in the first overtime as Amanda Lisberger trapped a pass in the box and turned 180 degrees to volley a shot that Linder tipped up to hit the crossbar and keep out of the net for her fifth and final save of the game.

The Longhorns had four shots in the first overtime and showed no signs of letting up in the second OT period. Texas was awarded a free kick in the 101st minute and Leah Payne stepped up to take the kick. Payne sent a high ball into the middle of the Colorado goal box. The ball bounced once and Sophie Campise one-touch volleyed the ball into the back of the net, ending the game and giving Texas the 1-0 overtime victory.

Texas finished the game outshooting the Buffaloes 16 to 11 and recorded six shots on goal to CU's two. Menachof led all Buffs with three shots and Linder finished with five saves.

"Since Nikki (Marshall) scored her four goals against Oklahoma, we've only scored two since that in five games," said Hempen. "When you're averaging less than half a goal a game over a five-game period, you can't win.

"It appears to me that they're trying hard, but there's something missing and I can't figure out what the deal is. We're all hurt. The team is hurt. The staff is hurt. We think we're doing the right thing but they can't seem to catch a break, and we have to fight our way out of it. We still have a game to play next week and we need to come out and win."

The Buffs will return home to Prentup field and wrap up the regular season while celebrating Senior Day on Friday, Oct. 30 against Texas Tech at 3 p.m. The game is set to air live on FSN and CU will honor Ally Goodman, Kara Linder, Nikki Marshall and Kelly Menachof.

CU will also be celebrating Kick or Treat at Prentup Field before the match. Kids and adults are invited to wear costumes and trick or treat with other student athletes before the two teams face off. Everyone wearing a costume will have a chance to win great prizes, starting at 2 p.m. The first 100 fans will also receive a FREE autographed poster by the seniors.

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.