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CSU fell to in-state rival CU, 41-27 on Sunday
Sep 2nd
By Katie O’Keefe
CSU Collegian
CSU fell to in-state rival CU, 41-27 on Sunday at Sports Authority Field at Mile High, giving first-year CU head coach Mike MacIntyre his first win as a Buffalo.
In the opening game of the season, CU equaled their entire number of wins from last year (1-11). The Buffs were able to beat the Rams with explosive plays from receiver Paul Richardson and their ability to capitalize on the Rams’ mistakes.
CU was lead by quarterback Connor Wood in his second start for the Buffaloes. He finished the game with 400 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions.
“He played like a grown man,” said Richardson. “I couldn’t even tell you how proud I am of him.”
CU quarterback Conner Wood passed for 400+ yards in the game.
Richardson, who was forced to sit out all of last season because of a torn ACL, was a weapon CSU could not contain. He finished the game with ten catches for 208 yards including an 82-yard touchdown run on CU’s first possession of the game to put the Buffs ahead of the Rams, 7-0.
Paul Richardsonscored two touchdowns and rushed for 200+yards in the victory
After a quarterback battle that lasted until game day, CSU quarterback Garrett Grayson was picked to lead the Rams. Grayson finished the game with 201 yards and zero touchdowns.
McElwain said his decision to play Grayson over junior Connor Smith and freshman Nick Stevens was based on Grayson’s preparation for the game.
“I think he was ready,” McElwain said after the game. “I’m not putting this loss on Garrett by any stretch of the imagination.”
The score was 10-0 at the end of the first quarter after the Rams defense held CU to a field goal.
A 49-yard field goal by kicker Jared Roberts put the Rams on the board with 14:17 left in the half.
The Rams receivers struggled to catch the ball throughout the game. The offense finished the game 2-of-14 on third down conversions.
“Offensively we didn’t do a very good job of keeping our defense off the field (by) sustaining drives,” McElwain said.
CU added to their lead after a 17-yard touchdown pass from Wood to receiver D.D. Goodson, making the score 17-3 Buffs with 3:56 left in the first half.
The Rams completed their first third-down conversion on their final drive of the half after previously going 0-for-6. With less than two minutes to go in the half, CSU running back Kapri Bibbs ran the ball for 7 yards and the score to give the Rams their first touchdown of the game and Bibbs’ first touchdown of his career as a Ram.
After a CU field goal, the Buffs were up 20-10 at the half.
Coming out of the half, CSU seemed to have found a second wind. Big plays by the special teams kept CSU in the game during the third quarter.
After going three and out on their first possession to start the second half, CU punted the ball to CSU punt returner Joe Hansley who returned the ball 74 yards for the touchdown.
After CU was forced to settle for a field goal, CSU punt returner Thomas Coffman got in on the action and returned the punt 84 yards . Moments later, Bibbs scored his second touchdown of the game giving CSU its first lead, 24-23. Bibbs was given more carries after running back Donnell Alexander went down in the first half with an upper body injury, said to be a hand injury after the game.
In the fourth quarter, though, Bibbs made a costly mistake when he fumbled the ball which was recovered by CU and returned for the touchdown, giving CU a 31-26 lead and momentum back in favor of the Buffs.
The Rams would not lead again in the game.
A 75-yard pitch and catch from Wood to Richardson gave CU a 41-27 lead over the Rams after the successful extra point and the icing on the cake.
CU will take the Centennial Cup and year-long bragging rights back to Boulder after the Rams earned both in a win over the Buffs a year ago. CSU hasn’t had back-to-back wins over CU since the 1999 and 2000 seasons, a stat that will remain at least until 2015.
Football Beat Reporter Katie O’Keefe can be reached at sports@collegian.com
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CU women’s soccer, with a record fourth shut-out, remain undefeated
Sep 1st
Buffs Shut Out St. Mary’s 2-0, Break Program Record
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.
Anne Stuller had another good match
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.
Freshman Brie Hooks scored the first goal of the game
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.
Taylor Simpson
“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.”
Alexis Austin catches some major air
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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