Buffs Drop First of the Season

BOULDER—The opening weekend to the 2023 season finished on a sour note for the Colorado soccer team at Prentup Field on Sunday. The Buffaloes couldn't break through against the visiting Marquette Golden Eagles, dropping a 1-0 result in front of the home crowd.

Colorado (1-1) led in shots, 15-11, but could only muster three shots on net in the 90 minutes. The Buffs had close looks from Emerson Layne and Hope Leyba but nothing would find the back of the net. The CU duo accounted for seven of CU's 15 shots. Freshman Ava Priest and senior Shyra James each registered three shots on the day.

"We started the game really well," head coach Danny Sanchez commented. "I felt we were moving the ball well and were patient on the attack in the first 30 minutes of the attack. But over the big picture, we had plenty of shots but only two shots on goal and that's not going to get it done."

Marquette (1-1) got its goal in the 35th minute off a corner kick from the far corner. The Buffs were forced to chase from behind for the remainder of the afternoon.

"That's a good team," Sanchez continued. "They play at a high level and they came here with something to prove and we didn't respond. I felt like the last 20 minutes or so we were probably pressing a little bit. It's a learning experience. We have a lot of new players and we're still sorting out our roles. It's the second game of the season. We're going to take it for what it is, we'll learn from it and get ready for Colorado College on Thursday."

Sophomore Jordan Nytes jumped into action with four saves, following her three-save shutout against Northern Colorado in Thursday's opener.

How it happened
The Golden Eagles had the first big scoring threat of the day, getting a good look in on Nytes in the 16th minute. MU's Kate Gibson streaked in alone at the top of the 18 and forced a diving save from Nytes to keep the game scoreless.

"We lost our shape early in the game and Jordy made the save, but sometimes that's the kind of save that gives you momentum and we just didn't build off it," Sanchez noted. "When it was 1-0 late she made another great save to give us a chance. She did her part, unfortunately, we didn't quite have that final piece and sometimes that piece is the hardest to come by."

Layne found herself on the doorstep with a chance to put the Buffs in front in the 25th minute. The ball got served through the middle of the box and she put a left-footed chance on net and beat MU goalkeeper Mikki Easter, but a defender was able to get across behind Easter to keep the ball from crossing the goal line.

Golden Eagles would get the lone tally of the day in the 35th minute, with Caroline Cline finishing off a corner kick that got through the traffic and to the back post for the easy tap-in.

"We just weren't set up," Sanchez recalled. "Credit to them. It was crafty to dummy it and let it through to the far post. At the end of the day, there was nobody there. Over 90 minutes things like that are going to happen. We didn't produce enough in the final third to get anything more out of the game than we did."

CU's best chance in the second half came off the foot of H. Lebya. She ripped sinking a shot toward the far-side post forcing Easter to deflect it away in the 69th minute.

Upcoming
Colorado will take on another in-state rival on Thursday, hosting Colorado College at 7 p.m. MT.

Notes
Colorado is now 1-1 all-time against Marquette … The Buffs shortened the rotation on Sunday with only 17 players getting on the field … It was the first time CU was shutout since its 2-0 loss at Stanford last season (Oct. 30) … Colorado led in corner kicks 7-4 … Marquette's Aeryn Kennedy was awarded a yellow card in the 64th minute.

Players Mentioned

Shyra James

Emerson Layne

Hope Leyba

Jordan Nytes

Ava Priest

Players Mentioned

Shyra James

Emerson Layne

Hope Leyba

Jordan Nytes

Ava Priest

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Players Mentioned

Shyra James

Emerson Layne

Hope Leyba

Jordan Nytes

Ava Priest