BOULDER – Colorado soccer got off the bubble and into the NCAA Tournament on Monday. The Buffaloes will head to Texas A&M and take on the No. 8 seeded Aggies on Friday (6 p.m. MT) in first-round action from College Station.
“We couldn’t be more excited,” head coach Danny Sanchez exclaimed. “Like I said to the team, we did all we could to get results at the end of the year. We really felt we deserved this opportunity. Fortunately for us, the committee saw the body of our work. To see our name pop up early, really took a lot of pressure off and it was a great moment for the team.”
Colorado (13-4-3) secured an at-large bid and its tournament berth since the 2020 season. It is CU’s seventh trip to the NCAA Tournament in Sanchez’s 12 season and 13th overall. Colorado is 10-12-1 all-time in tournament games, advancing to the third round in both 2006 and 2013.
CU has been in tournament mode its last three matches, following a 1-1 draw at Washington on Oct. 22. The Buffs put together wins against Arizona, No. 18 Arizona State and Utah to build its case for the at-large selection.
“We told the team right after the Washington game that to get into the tournament we would have to win three games,” Sanchez stated. “We knew the challenges and the team earned the right to get into the tournament. They rose to that challenge and now it’s on to the next phase of the season. Everybody is 0-0 and it’s a winner-go-home scenario, which we’ve been dealing with for the last few weeks.”
The Buffs finished the season with an RPI rating of 55 and boosted its resume with a four-game unbeaten streak end the season (3-0-1). Colorado recorded ranked wins over No. 14 Michigan State and No. 18 Arizona, along with a draw at No. 13 USC.
CU is one of five Pac-12 teams in the field of 64. The Buffs finished fourth in the Pac-12 (5-3-3) with 18 points. It’s Colorado’s best conference finish since 2016 (3rd).
Texas A&M (9-7-4) advanced to the SEC semifinals before falling to Georgia 3-2 in overtime. The Aggies defeated No. 19 Alabama in October for its marquee win of the season. They also upset No. 13 South Carolina in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament. A&M…
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