BOULDER – Four second-half goals ignite Colorado’s 4-0 upset of No. 18 Arizona State on Senior Day at Prentup Field on Sunday.
The Buffaloes and Sun Devils played 68 minutes of scoreless soccer in frigid conditions. An own goal opened the floodgates in the 69th minute and propelled the Buffs to their second ranked win of the season.
“I want to give a huge shout-out to all of our grounds and facilities people, especially Jose and Alex, for getting here at the crack of dawn and making the field perfect to play,” head coach Danny Sanchez acknowledged. “Their extra work and extra commitment were a big part of our success today.
“I thought the first half we played well but we just didn’t create enough so we challenged the team at halftime to get more shots on goal. Arizona State is down a couple of players so we knew as the game went on, especially at altitude, we were going to get more of the ball. That was the best 30 minutes we played all year.”
Colorado (12-4-3, 4-3-3 Pac-12) got goals from Hope Leyba, Ally Clark and Claire Curran following the own goal. The Buffs registered 9 of their 13 shots in the second half while keeping ASU to four shots per period.
Sunday might have been Senior Day but it was the freshmen that provided much of the spark. Ava Priest created the own goal and the rookies accounted for five of the team’s 10 points.
“It’s been coming [for the freshmen],” Sanchez continued. “Anybody that has been watching [could see it]. It was great to get Claire a good goal. I thought Angelina [Moschetti] was great off the bench with an assist and played with some good composure. Faith [Lebya] was rock solid and unbeatable as usual.”
Goalkeeper Jordan Nytes recorded three saves in her eighth shutout of the season. Sunday also marked her 12th win of the season, tying her with former JJ Tompkins for the seventh most in a single season.
How it Happened
Colorado had a dangerous look on net in the opening moments of Sunday, getting a free kick just off the near corner of the penalty box. Juliauna Hayward floated a ball on net and ASU’s goalkeeper Pauline Nelles made the save.
The Buffs kept the pressure up in the first half with Shyra James and Rachel Rosen both forcing the issue, but getting flagged for offside.
CU’s luck turned in the 69th minute with Priest making a run down the near side of the field to the end-line. She tried to center the ball into the box for…
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