BOULDER – Colorado’s season-finale on Friday proved to be a microcosm of the Buffaloes’ 2022 season, closing the year with a 2-2 draw against Utah at Prentup Field.
The result was CU’s fifth draw of the season, as the Buffs finish the year 8-7-5 overall and 2-6-3 in Pac-12 play.
Friday marked the final game for seven of CU’s departing seniors. Kayleigh Webb, Civana Kuhlmann, Hannah Cardenas, Allie Palangi, Alyssa Duke, Hannah Sharts and Dani Hansen all got the start to close their careers. For Webb, Friday marked her 98th consecutive start, closing her career as CU’s all-time leader in starts and games played.
“I’m so proud,” Webb said after the match. “It’s not for me. It’s the whole team. They are the ones that have pushed me to be able to start and play every single game of my five years. The coaches, the training staff and the strength and conditioning team, they’re the ones that push me to get out on the field. It really is everyone, not just one player.
Utah (6-7-6, 2-5-3) struck first, but the Buffs got two first-half goals from Kuhlmann and Emerson Layne to take the lead at the half. Utah forced the draw on a scramble off a penalty save to knot the game up midway through the second half.
“You want to send them [the seniors] out with a win,” head coach Danny Sanchez expressed. “We sent them out with a result, but more importantly we sent them out competing. Some will continue to play. Some won’t. But I thought that all seven of them really performed. They gave us a chance to win. It was just a little unfortunate on the penalty rebound, but it kind of sums up our season a little bit.”
Hansen, making her first start since Oct. 20 against UCLA, finished the day with eight saves on 10 shots on goal. Utah held the advantage in shots on the day, 27-16.
How it happened
The Utes came out of the gate hard, recording nine of the game’s first 10 shots. The ninth attempt from Katie O’Kane found the back of the net in the 20th minute to put the Utes up early on.
The Utah lead didn’t last long.
Kuhlmann answered the call in the 21st minute, flicking in a header off a corner serve by Jenny Beyer. The goal, her 12th of the season, added to her career-high. It also marked her 30th point of the season, placing her in a three-way tie with Taylor Kornieck (2019) and Jorian Baucom (2018) for the second-most points in a season.
“She’ll [Kuhlmann] be missed,” Sanchez commented….
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