No. 20 Cal Edges Buffs 1-0

BOULDER - Colorado was edged 1-0 by No. 20 California on Thursday in Pac-12 soccer action at Prentup Field. The Buffs dropped to 7-3-3 overall and 1-2-1 in the Pac-12, while the Bears improved to 9-2-1 and 2-1-1.

HOW IT HAPPENED: Cal struck first in the middle of a defensive-oriented first half. Kailee Gifford connected on one touch from the right side of the box after a cross from Kayla Fong to give the Bears a 1-0 lead.

The Buffs put several strong shots on goal in the second half, but were unable to penetrate the net. Megan Massey hit a floating rocket in the 46th minute that took a leaping save to prevent a goal. Hannah Cardenas's shot from the top of the box in the 73rd minute had to be pushed over the bar with one hand for a save.

KEY STATISTICS: Jalen Tompkins made four saves for CU, which outshot Cal 14-7. The Buffs dominated play in the second half, holding a 10-3 shot advantage after halftime.

NOTES: CU slipped to 3-4-1 all-time vs. Cal ... the loss snapped a two-match shutout streak for Tompkins and the Buffs.

UP NEXT: CU hosts No. 2 Stanford on Sunday at noon at Prentup Field. It will be the first-ever Pride game in support of the LGBTQ community. In addition, CU's live mascot Ralphie will run before kickoff.

POSTGAME QUOTES:
On what offense failed to do
"I think that if you look at the run of play, we didn't come out with enough energy in the first half. Not just because Cal Scored, just because it felt like everything was just a struggle to do. We dug ourselves a hole, and in this league, it's just tough. It's tough for anyone to score, it's tough for everyone to create a ton of chances. Having said that, I thought the second half was much better. I thought we had the run of play, not just because we had shots, because we held them without a corner kick the whole game. I don't believe (Jalen Thompkins) really had to make a save. We dug ourselves a hole, but we played a lot better in the second half. We had a lot of energy, we created a lot of second chances. It just didn't go our way today.

On if it was frustrating to have so many shots not go in
"I think that you have to look at the positives. This is a very good team that we played, and I thought that we played very well in the second half. We created a lot of chances. To be fair to Cal, they were dropping and giving us a few more chances, so we had a little bit more of the ball, but we didn't create enough really quality chances in the final third to break them down.

On if it was unlucky to have injured player during goal
"At the end of the day, if a player goes down in the box everyone has to keep playing. We have to keep playing, everyone kind of paused, and slowed down or stopped and turned. You can't do that, you have to be mentally tough and in the game the whole time. It is disappointing that we turned off, and we can see that it cost us a goal

On if a lack of scoring against ranked teams needs to be addressed
"No, we just need to know that it's not going to get any easier. When you look at Stanford, not only do they not give up any goals, but they also lead the country in scoring, while they are playing good teams. They are playing a top 20 schedule and they are still leading the country in scoring, so it is going to be a huge challenge for us on Sunday. Hopefully they have a nice hard game against Utah tonight, they are going to travel here, they will have their fourth or fifth day of altitude, and we need to bring the energy we brought in the second half. Whatever happens, happens. If we would have played both halves like the second half, then it is what it is. It was disappointing that we dug ourselves into a little bit of a hole and that is tough to get out of.

On if Rasmussen should have taken shot earlier in second half
"It was a great individual effort for her to get into that spot, and (Emily Boyd) is a four-year starter, so obviously she reads the game well, and I don't think there is anything more that Becca (Rasmussen) could have done there. I think that she created a good opportunity, we just didn't get a lot of good looking final pieces today.

On Sarah Kinzner's Status
"We are hoping (she will be back against Stanford) she is recovering, and obviously we need all hands-on deck on Sunday so we're hoping. However, just like with any player that is injured, we're going to be cautious, there is still a lot of soccer left to be played in this conference. This was only our fourth conference game, we still have 7 conference games left, there is a lot of soccer to be played. We will be smart about it, hopefully we can have her, if not then other players just need to step up.

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Team Stats

Cassie Phillips

Taylor Kornieck

Joss Orejel

Hannah Cardenas

Players Mentioned

Hannah Cardenas

Sarah Kinzner

Megan Massey

Jalen Tompkins

Players Mentioned

Hannah Cardenas

Sarah Kinzner

Megan Massey

Jalen Tompkins