BOULDER—Colorado junior Shyra James scored two goals, helping propel the Buffaloes to a 5-0 win over Weber State to start the 2022 season on Thursday.
The Buffs used a dominant second half of play to put distance between themselves and the Wildcats, scoring four goals in the final 45 minutes. 25 different Buffs were able to get into the match, including eight newcomers making their Colorado debuts.
“It was great to get everyone good minutes,” head coach Danny Sanchez explained. “I thought all the tempo really picked up when we subbed, especially in the second half. I was really pleased with the group as a whole and we’re looking forward to San Diego on Sunday.”
Junior Rachel Rosen got the onslaught started, notching CU’s first goal in the 39th minute. She sent a service from a corner kick that slipped inside the far post untouched for her third career goal, helping the Buffs to a 1-0 lead at the half.
The floodgates opened for the Buffs in the second half.
James scored her two goals in a span of three minutes, netting her first of the day in the 52nd minute off a centering pass from Jade Babcock-Chi. Moments later she gave CU a 3-0 lead, finishing with a header off a corner serve from Amaya Gonzalez.
The two goals extended James’ scoring streak from the end of last season. James has now scored in five consecutive games, matching volunteer assistant Nikki Malone‘s streak of five consecutive games in the 2006 season. The goals were also the 15th and 16th of her career, moving forward into the top 10 on CU’s all-time scoring list.
“I’ve been working really hard this spring and summer to really get in my fitness,” James noted. “We’ve worked on playing as a team and building a culture. I’m excited for what we can do the rest of this season.”
The final two goals came off the feet of a pair of freshmen. Juliauna Hayward and Emerson Layne put the icing on the cake with their first collegiate tallies. Hayward slotted one past Mekell Moss in the 65th minute, while Layne buried a late penalty kick in the 89th minute.
“It was amazing,” Hayward said her goal. “Honestly, there were two that I missed earlier that I could have made. I was just like ‘I’m going to get a goal this half. I feel it.’ I came in really confident. The first half was a little off for me with first-game jitters. In the second half I was like ‘I got this.’ It’s just like any other game and I needed to be confident. That goal just really…
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