Posts tagged SMC
CU women’s soccer, with a record fourth shut-out, remain undefeated
Sep 1st
BOULDER – When the University of Colorado and Saint Mary’s College soccer teams meet, records have a way of being broken.
In 2009, the Buffaloes scored a program high eight goals, behind multiple goal performances by both Nikki Marshall and Kelly Butler. In 2013, in just their second meeting, a 2-0 CU victory was another record breaker.
The Buffs have broken the record the squad set last season, shutting out their first four opponents, a program first. Last season, the Buffs set the precedent by shutting out their first three opponents, on their way to a record setting five game unbeaten streak to start the season. In the fourth game of that year, Anne Stuller recorded her third multiple goal game of 2012.
This year, Stuller continues to make her mark, becoming the first player since Kate Russell in 2010 to record at least two assists in a single game. In just her fourth collegiate game, Brie Hooks also continues to shine, scoring both of the Buffs’ goals in the win.
“I think they were two good balls from Stuller,” CU head coach Danny Sanchez said. “We need (Stuller) scoring goals, but we need her creating goals, and she’s doing that. The first one, she just put the ball in a dangerous spot, and fortunately for us it went in. The second one was a good run to get in behind the defense. It was a good shot coming off frame for the score.”
Hooks has already scored five goals and had two multiple goal games in the young season. She joins an elite group, becoming one of five Buffs to have recorded at least two multiple goal games in a single season. She joins Nikki Marshall (three in 2006 and two in both 2007 and 2009), Katie Griffin (three in 2005 and two in 2003), Stuller (three in 2012) and Fran Munnelly (two in 2005). She also ties Melissa Cartmell for fifth on the freshmen goals list.
With the win, the Buffs improve to a perfect 4-0, also a program first. After facing back-to-back ranked opponents before coming to Prentup Field on Sunday, the Gaels fall to 1-3.
“I like how we started today,” Sanchez said. “We’ve been starting slow, and we came out really fast. We had a couple good chances early, put Saint Mary’s under pressure with those early goals, which really kind of takes the pressure off the defense a little bit … We were good in the back today. Saint Mary’s did cause us some problems with some of their runs, and they had a good early chance that could have made it a different game. Big picture, especially in the second half, I felt we were very solid and did a good job.”
The Buffs outshot the Gaels 15-8, including an outstanding 10-3 differential in the first half. It took just 39 seconds for Stuller to take the first shot for the Buffs, and just over three minutes for CU to get its first goal.
At the 3:11 mark, the Buffs controlled the pace, with Hooks getting the ball from Stuller on the right side to give the Buffs the early 1-0 lead.
Stuller, who led the Buffs with seven shots, including three on goal, kept up her early attack. In just over a three minute span, Stuller took three shots, forcing a save in the 10th minute.
It took until the 14th minute for the Gaels to take their first shot, with Vicki Shimkus taking the first of her team-high three shots. The Gaels continued to control possession, but couldn’t seem to keep the ball out of their backfield. In the 29th minute, Hooks again caused a rumble at the net, but sent the ball wide.
Shimkus responded once more for the Gaels, hitting one wide less than a minute later. The Buffs would dominate both sides of the ball until halftime, allowing no shots in the final 15 minutes and scoring once more in the 36th minute. For the third time this season, and second in the game, Stuller connected with Hooks to give the Buffs the 2-0 lead.
“The first one was an accident, again just trying to cross it, and luckily it happened to go in,” Hooks said. “The second one was a really good cross from Stu, which we’ve been working on, getting those long balls over the back. She played a perfect ball, with just a touch and then I tried to slot it in.”
SMC was in fighting mode to begin the second half. Just 1:14 in, Amanda Glass sent one at CU keeper Annie Brunner. Less than a minute later, Melinda Madden hit one wide.
The Buffs responded in the 50th minute, with Hayley Hughes hitting it high. After a CU corner kick, Stuller had her shot blocked. CU remained on their offensive frenzy, with Saint Mary’s keeper Kaeli Schmidt jumping at a Bianca Jones shot, tapping the ball just over the top post in the 57th minute. With 30 minutes remaining, Darcy Jerman got a touch off a corner kick, but caught the ride side of the net.
From the 65th minute on, the Gaels began to press the Buffs, outshooting CU 3-1. With less than eight minutes remaining, Shimkus had another solid shot, but sent it just wide right. In the 87th minute, the Gaels tried again, but Brunner grabbed her third save of the game to hold the shutout.
The Buffs leave Prentup for the final time of the non-conference portion of the season for the DU Invitational at CIBER Field at the University of Denver Soccer Stadium next weekend. CU opens play against Alabama at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 6 and faces UT-Martin at 11 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 8.
“Alabama’s an SEC school off to a good start,” Sanchez said. “UT-Martin has won their conference the last couple of years. They made it to the tournament and lost in the first round in overtime last year. I know their coach from back in the DII days. Phil McNamara is a very good coach. I’m sure the team is very well coached, so tough challenges at DU next weekend.”
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Simpson Shines In CU V-Ball Debut Despite Loss To St. Mary’s
Aug 31st
BOULDER—Junior Taylor Simpson and sophomore Alexis Austin each recorded 11 kills for the University of Colorado volleyball team, but unfortunately it was not enough as the St. Mary’s College Gaels won the first match of the Omni Hotels Colorado Volleyball Classic on Friday night 25-17, 25-16, 22-25, 25-19.
Simpson made her CU debut in the match and took 36 swings to lead the team. She also added six digs and a pair of block assists. Austin added two digs and three block assists in the effort.
“I think that Taylor carried a big load for us tonight,” coach Liz Kritza said. “I think that what she is going to learn as we continue through the season is that the more points you’re getting on the offensive side, the more serve-reception balls you’ll have to handle. That’s because other teams are constantly going to try to load our front-row outsides. I’m pleased, because she is a nice addition to the program, and I only look for her to continue improving.”
Returning to CU’s line-up on Friday night was redshirt senior Kerra Schroeder who led the team defensively with 10 digs. She added a pair of kills and one block assist in her return.
“Kerra played in multiple positions tonight,” Kritza said. “She’s okay with that, because this isn’t about any individual player’s performance—it’s about the overall win-loss. I like being able to talk about that openly with players, because they know that we all want the same thing.”
Senior Nikki Lindow had nine kills and hit .312 for the Buffs. She also led the team with five block assists. Junior Kelsey English added seven kills and three block assists on the night. Freshman Joslyn Hayes had a nice debut for the Buffs as she hit .333 with five kills in her first career start.
“Hayes, as a freshman, was pretty productive,” Kritza said. “The thing with her is that I have to remember that she is still a freshman. There are some limitations right now until she gets more repetition. She contributed at a high pace.”
In total, the Buffs recorded 48 kills, 44 digs and 9.0 team blocks, while hitting .246. The Gaels put together 53 kills, 53 digs, 11.0 team blocks and hit .246.
SMC was led by Jordan Shaw who hammered 14 kills and hit .370. Kristina Graven added 12 kills and 11 digs for SMC. The Gaels, a 2012 NCAA Tournament Team, received votes in the AVCA Preseason Coaches Poll after finishing the 2012 season with an 18-11 overall record.
“They [St. Mary’s] were a lot more stable on their first contacts; that’s the story of the match,” Kritza explained. “We knew going in that the team who could win the serve-pass game would win, especially early in the season. This is a good team; they are organized, and they don’t make a ton of errors, as evidenced by being able to withstand some of our runs tonight. For us, there are a lot of really good things, lots of positives. Clearly, we’re disappointed, because we wanted to be able to have a more consistent group of our plays. For us, this is the beginning of a very long season that we know is going to be very productive.”
The Buffs got off to a great start in the first set, taking a 5-1 lead. The Gaels rallied back to tie the set up at 7-7. The set was close until CU was up 12-11; and at that point SMC put together a 10-0 run to take a 21-12 advantage. The Buffs kept attacking, but weren’t able to close the gap as the Gaels won 25-17.
The second set also started out well for CU and the Buffs had a 5-4 lead before SMC took three straight points to take a 7-5 lead. CU came back and tied the game at 8-8, but at that point the Gaels recorded six of seven points to go up 14-9. The Buffs didn’t let up, but unfortunately couldn’t get back in the set and fell 25-16.
The third set was another close one with 10 ties. Neither team had more than a three-point lead at any point during the game. The Buffs used a 5-0 run to take a 22-20 lead over the Gaels, forcing SMC to use a timeout. CU took the first point out of the time out to take a three-point lead at 23-20. The Buffs had set point at 24-21 thanks to a kill from Austin, but SMC fought off the first set point (24-22). The Buffs finished the set with a kill from Simpson on the following point (25-22).
The Buffs and Gaels played a tight fourth game until SMC took a five-point lead at 14-9. The Gaels extended their lead to eight points at 20-12, forcing the Buffs to use a timeout. The Buffs took the following three points out of the break, but it wasn’t enough as they dropped the fourth set 25-19.
Colorado and St. Mary’s will square off again on Saturday night at 7 p.m. in the final match of the Omni Hotels Colorado Volleyball Classic. Early arriving fans will receive mini-volleyballs, courtesy of the Omni Hotels.
“The beauty of this type of double-header is that you can measure yourself; it’s virtually the same team,” Kritza said. “You can actually learn how to scout opponents; you can learn to come back. I think it’s very important for us, especially in nonconference play, to have a test like this at the very beginning.”
COLORADO BUFFALOES
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CU Buffs Women’s Soccer Faces Falcons, Gaels In Second Weekend
Aug 29th
QUICKLY: The University of Colorado soccer team looks to continue its hot start to the season against Air Force and St. Mary’s. The Buffs open the weekend against their third straight in-state opponent, taking on the Falcons at 5 p.m. on Friday. They conclude a three-game home-stand at 1 p.m. on Sunday against the Gaels. In the opening weekend, CU recorded back-to-back shutouts against Northern Colorado and Colorado College in the third annual Colorado Cup.
COLORADO VS. AIR FORCE: The Buffs hold a 4-1 lead over the Falcons. CU’s lone loss was a 1-0 defeat in the Buffs’ first season (1996). After an eight season series hiatus, the in-state opponents resumed play last season, with the Buffs winning 2-0. Three of the Buffs’ four wins over AFA have been shutouts.
SCOUTING THE FALCONS: The Falcons are off to a 1-0-1 start, tying Montana 1-1 and falling 2-1 to TCU at the Montana Kickoff Invitational. Air Force returns six starters from last year’s squad that scored 12 goals and went 5-9-3 (0-7 Mountain West). The Falcons lost Stephanie Patterson, who scored five goals in her final season, but welcome 12 newcomers. AFA’s two goals this season have come off of just three shots by freshman Noelle Heiser and junior Kylie Williamson.
COLORADO VS. ST. MARY’S: The Buffs and Gaels have met just once, in 2009. The 8-1 CU victory was a record breaker. Nikki Marshall scored four goals (tying her own record for most goals scored in a single game) and Kelly Butler scored two. The eight total goals are the most the Buffs have scored in a single game and the 19 total points ranks second. The 28 shots ties for fifth on the single game list. CU also scored off an own goal for only the second time in program history.
SCOUTING THE GAELS: The Gaels enter the weekend with a 1-1 record after defeating Grand Canyon 3-0 and falling to No. 11 San Diego State 1-0. SMC returns eight starters from last year’s squad, including All-West Coast Conference honorable mentions Melinda Madden and Vicki Shimkus (last year’s leading scorer) and Canada Word Cup U-19 member Caroline Beauline. The Gaels posted a 6-12-2 (1-7 WCC) record in 2012.
PEDAL TO PRENTUP: Make a healthy and environmentally friendly trip to Prentup Field on Friday, Aug. 30 to watch CU take on Air Force at 5 p.m. The first 200 fans who bike to Prentup will receive a free CU T-shirt. Admission is free, though fans can make a $5 donation to the Buff Club to show their support for the team, so grab your family and friends for a bike ride to Prentup Field.
FAMILIAR FACES: Santa Clara transfer Brooke Rice will face former West Coast Conference opponent Saint Mary’s on Sunday. Rice played in 26 games in two seasons at Santa Clara.
LAST WEEK: The Buffs opened the 2013 season with the third annual Colorado Cup. In the opening game against Northern Colorado, the Buffs shut out the Bears 3-0 for the third straight year. In seven meetings between the two teams, the Buffs have never lost, much less given up a goal. It took just over 33 minutes into the game for freshman Brie Hooks to score her first goal as a Buff, and then just another 45 to score again, this time off an assist from Darcy Jerman. The Buffs’ other goal came off an own goal, marking just the fifth own goal in program history. On Sunday, Hooks once again led the Buffs to victory, scoring off an Anne Stuller assist, to defeat Colorado College 1-0.
TIEBREAKER: Colorado and Denver both concluded the Colorado Cup with two wins and an equal goal differential. Though Denver allowed one goal and Colorado allowed zero, Denver took home the title by scoring one more goal than the Buffs. Despite losing the trophy, the Buffs have two titles under their belts and have remained undefeated through six games in three Cups.
HOOKS, LINE AND SINKER: In her first two games as a Buff, freshman Brie Hooks has already scored three goals. Against UNC, Hooks became the first player in program history to have a multi-goal performance in her Colorado debut. Other Buffs to reach similar milestones are Katie Griffin, who scored two goals in her second game at CU in 2003 and Nikki Marshall, who netted four in just her third game in 2006. Hooks followed up her fabulous introduction by hitting the lone goal and game-winner against CC. Her impressive opening weekend helped her to CU’s first Athlete of the Week honors of 2013.
HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE: A record crowd showed their support for the Buffs in the home opener on Sunday. 1,364 fans were in attendance for the final games of the Colorado Cup, breaking into the 10th spot on CU’s all-time crowds at Prentup Field. This is the second Colorado Cup game to rank in the top 10. CU’s battle against Northern Colorado on August 21, 2011 in the inaugural Cup drew 1,911 fans, ranking fourth all time at Prentup.
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