Colorado University Athletics
Soccer Begins 2015 Campaign Friday
August 20, 2015 | Soccer
QUICKLY: The University of Colorado women's soccer team opens its 2015 campaign with back-to-back Colorado Cup tournament matches. The Buffaloes first travel to Fort Collins to face Colorado State at 5 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 21 and then return for their home opener at Prentup Field on Sunday, Aug. 23 against Colorado College at 3:30 p.m.
INTERVIEWS/CREDENTIAL REQUESTS: For those members of the media wishing to interview the women's soccer team during the season or request a game credential, please contact Assistant Sports Information Director/Soccer Contact Ashley Braun at (303) 492-7525 or ashley.braun@colorado.edu.
KEY LINKS: Friday (livestats): http://buffs.me/1PClBac (livestream): http://buffs.me/1Noz3jP
Sunday (livestats): http://buffs.me/1UVPDJ5 (livestream): buffs.me/buffslive
COLORADO VS. COLORADO STATE: Friday's match will mark the second meeting between the Buffaloes and Rams and second straight year they face off in the season opener. CU is 1-0 against CSU all-time.
SCOUTING THE RAMS: The Rams open their third season as a Division I program. In 2014, CSU finished with a 4-15 overall record and went 2-9 in conference matches. Gianna Bertana, a senior this year led the Rams with four goals and one assist and junior Amy Eckert scored a pair of goals. As a team, Colorado State averaged 7.3 shots per match and tallied 67 corner kicks last season.
COLORADO VS. COLORADO COLLEGE: The Buffaloes are 7-2-1 all-time against the Tigers and are 4-1 when hosting Colorado College.
SCOUTING THE TIGERS: Colorado College returns 13 letterwinners and six starters from its 2014 roster. Last season, the Tigers posted a 12-5-4 overall record. Midfielder Sarah Schweiss is back for her senior year after leading the team with 24 points on 10 goals and four assists last season. Colorado College averaged 1.90 goals per game and its defense shut out seven opponents in 2014.
WHO'S RETURNING: The Buffs return 18 letterwinners, including five starters and four student-athletes with starting experience. Four of the team's top six scorers return, led by junior Brie Hooks, who recorded 23 points off eight goals and seven assists in her sophomore season. All but four goal scorers will be returning to the Buff attack, while defenders Kahlia Hogg, Alex Huynh and Heather Ward will help anchor the back line. Seven seniors will provide leadership on and off the pitch.
HEAD COACH DANNY SANCHEZ: Fourth year head coach Danny Sanchez has been outstanding at the helm of CU. Under his leadership, Sanchez has guided the Buffaloes to a combined 36-22-7 record in three seasons. He has helped the black and gold post back-to-back 14 wins seasons (2013 and '14) along with two straight berths in the NCAA Tournament, advancing as far as the Sweet 16 in 2013 and the Round of 32 last season. In 2014, Sanchez led the Buffs a program-best third place finish in the Pac-12 Conference and it also marked the first time CU posted a winning Pac-12 record since it joined the conference in 2011. In his 20 year coaching career, Sanchez has accumulated a 303-82-30 record.
JUNIOR BRIE HOOKS: Brie Hooks followed up her strong freshman year with another impressive season as a sophomore. During year two wearing the black and gold, she started all 22 matches, tied her career-high with eight goals while setting a new personal best with six assists, 23 points and 58 shots. In Colorado's sophomore offensive record book, she ranks first in points, tied for second in goals, second in shots and tied for second in assists. She tallied the game-winning assist for the Buffs in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament against BYU, helping CU advance to the Round of 32 for a second straight year. She finished the year ranked in the top 15 in the Pac-12 in assists, goals, points and shots, and also led the Buffs in the same respective categories. Her outstanding performance on the pitch earned her a handful of honors including All-Pac-12 Second Team, Collegesportsmadness.com All-Pac-12 First Team, NSCAA/Continental All-Pacific Region Third Team, UNLV Nike Invitational All-Tournament Team and University of Colorado Female Athlete of the Year.
SENIOR MADI KRAUSER: One of seven seniors on the squad and elected as one of three team captains, the Buffs will turn to Madi Krauser for her leadership throughout the year. Krauser, healthy again from an injury that forced her to miss part of last season, came back strong with three goals and four assists. She returned to the pitch to tally the game-winner against 18th-ranked USC on the road and also scored the Buffs' second goal versus No. 15 BYU in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, helping seal the victory.
2014, A LOOK BACK: The Buffs made a statement in 2014, earning 14 victories for a second consecutive season and just the sixth-time ever to finish a program-best third place in the Pac-12 Conference. CU concluded its 2014 campaign with a 14-7-1 overall record and went 6-4-1 against conference opponents, the program's first winning Pac-12 record since it became a member in 2011. The Buffaloes attacked scored 33 goals, tied for sixth-most all-time and tied a school record with 35 assists over their 22 matches. The defense had one of its best showings in program history, posting 12 shutouts, which tied a single-season team record, held opponents to a combined 17 goals and tallied a 0.76 goals-against average. The Buffs strong season earned them the right to return to the NCAA Tournament for a second straight year and advanced to the Round of 32. The Pac-12 Conference sent a league record nine teams to the postseason. The Buffs hosted 15th-ranked BYU in the opening round and went on to claim a 2-0 victory on a cold and snowy November afternoon in Boulder. The Buffs' season came to an end against No. 6 North Carolina in the second round, falling 1-0 in overtime. Colorado placed two student-athletes on the All-Pac-12 Conference Second Team, sophomore Brie Hooks and senior Tori Cooper and nine were named Pac-12 All-Academic Honor Mention.
NSCAA RANKINGS: The Buffs received votes in the 2015 NSCAA Preseason Poll. CU will face eight opponents ranked or receiving votes in the 2015 preseason poll, including defending Pac-12 Conference Champion (No. 4) UCLA and 2014 NCAA College Cup semifinalist (No. 3) Stanford.
SEASON OPENERS: Colorado owns a stellar 10-5-4 record in season openers and are unbeaten in its last 11 with an 8-0-3 mark. The Buffs have won six straight season openers.
COLORADO CUP: The Colorado Cup is an annual tournament that brings together all six Division I Colorado universities and colleges to celebrate the game of soccer in this beautiful state. Beginning in the 2011 season, the founding teams were Colorado, Northern Colorado, Denver and Colorado College. Last season, Air Force and Colorado State joined the mix. CU has won three of the four trophies, including last year in which the Buffs defeated Colorado State 2-0, Northern Colorado 1-0 and Denver 2-1 en route to the Cup. CU also won in back-to-back seasons from 2011-12 and in 2013, DU claimed the trophy. This season, the Buffs will host three Colorado Cup matches at Prentup Field on Sunday, Aug. 23. Air Force faces Northern Colorado at 11 a.m., then Denver takes the pitch against Colorado State followed by CU versus Colorado College. For more information including composite schedules, please visit http://www.denverpioneers.com/sports/w-soccer/ColoradoCup.html.
PAC-12 NETWORKS: In its fourth year, the Pac-12 Networks will air 69 women's soccer games, including nine of the Buffs' match-ups. Eight of CU's nine televised contests on the networks are conference matches. The Buffs' match against Northwestern is also part of the Pac-12 Networks line-up.
TICKETS: Single game tickets are $5 each. Season tickets start at just $25 for general admission and are on sale now by visiting CUBuffs.com or by calling 303-49-BUFFS. Also, new this year is the Women's Sports Pass, which gives you general admission seating to all home soccer, volleyball and women's basketball games for just $125. The sports pass is also available for purchase by contacting the CU ticket office to save over 50 percent off the single game price.
