Buffs Battle No. 24 Texas Tech to the Finish

Thursday, October 10

Lubbock, TX

6 p.m.

Colorado

10-2-2, 4-1-2

Texas Tech

10-2-2, 5-0-2

Team	1	2	Final F
Colorado	0	1	1
Texas Tech	0	1	1

Photo by: Texas Tech Athletics

October 10, 2024 | Soccer

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Colorado gets a point on the road against the Red Raiders

By: Seth Pringle, Athletic Communications

LUBBOCK, Texas — Late heroics from Ava Priest helped Colorado secure a 1-1 draw on the road Thursday night against No. 24 Texas Tech at John Walker Soccer Complex. The draw keeps the Buffaloes in the top four of the Big 12 standings.

Colorado (10-2-2, 4-1-2 Big 12) battled from behind to steal the point on the road. The Buffs trailed 1-0 in the second half before Priest found the back of the net in the 73rd minute.

The two teams played a scoreless first half, but TTU struck first early in the second half. The Buffs chased the lead for much of the second half and were outshot 23-5 on the night.

"We had to weather the first 15 or 20 minutes," head coach Danny Sanchez explained after the win. "I thought we did a good job of that and kind of settled into the game. They [Texas Tech] had a lot of shots, but most of it was from a distance. Our backs and Jordi [Nytes] dealt with it fine. We gave up the goal a couple of minutes into the second half but was really pleased with how the group responded."

The Buffs remain unbeaten on the road this season, improving to 4-0-1, following its first Big 12 loss last Saturday against TCU.

"I was really pleased [with the response]," Sanchez added. "We knew they would come out flying at home, and we withstood that piece. It was a tough environment. It's very loud. The fans are right on top of you. It's hard to communicate with the field. But I thought we started some outstanding leadership on the field. I thought the backs were fantastic tonight. Laura [Gouvin], Phoenix [Dawn Miranda], Faith [Leyba] and Rachel [Rosen] were fantastic. Juliauna [Hayward], in the midfield, was really dominant when she got the ball and Ava's goal was just class."

Texas Tech (10-2-2, 5-0-2 Big 12) remains unbeaten in the Big 12 this season and is tied for the No. 1 seed with TCU.

How it happened
Jordan Nytes came up big for CU in the first half, registering six of her seven saves in the first 45 minutes. Her biggest stop of the night came in the 7th minute, denying Tech's Ashleigh Williams on the doorstep to keep the game even keel in the opening minutes.

"We were on our heels a bit in those first 15 minutes," Sanchez continued. "Jordi made that big save on 37 early in the match, which was probably their best chances other than the goal all game. It might have been a different story if we had given up something early, but it was important to withstand that piece, and then when they scored their goal, we still had plenty of time."

Colorado went into the locker room at the half, getting outshot 15-3, and Tech found the back of the net off Williams' right foot on the Red Raiders' first shot of the second half.

CU continued to be outshot after the TTU goal and didn't register a shot until Emerson Layne put a shot toward the net in the 73rd minute.

Layne's shot was blocked and cleared back to Michaela Rosenbaum, who played it back to Priest. Priest cut from the far sideline toward the middle of the field, beat a Tech defender, and fired a hard left-footer from 25 yards out to get the Buffs on the board.

"We changed some things tactically that they really bought," Sanchez said. "They had some shots from a distance but not a lot of quality opportunities. Ava's goal was world-class. After that, I thought both teams had some half-chances, but it was a great point on the road against a team that had only given up one goal in conference play all year."

Up Next
Colorado returns home to take on Central Florida on Sunday (Noon). The first 500 fans are eligible for free In-N-Out burgers and the team is giving out free t-shirts while supplies last.

Notes
Priest's goal was her third of the season…she now has 10 points on the season…It was just the ninth goal allowed by the Red Raiders this season…Priest is the third Buff with 10+ points this season, joining Shyra James (13) and Hope Leyba (12)…CU is now 1-2-1 vs ranked opponents this season and 1-0-1 on the road…CU's five total shots were the fewest since totaling five at Washington State (Oct. 19, 2023)…Nytes remains at 23 career wins as a Buff…CU improves to 12-3-1 all-time against TTU…The Buffs were again without the services of Shyra James (injury).