Posts tagged MT
CU soccer rolls over the Ducks for 10th win
Oct 7th
BOULDER – Hayley Hughes lit a spark for the University of Colorado soccer team, pushing the Buffaloes past the Oregon Ducks 1-0 at Prentup Field on Sunday.
Hughes led the team with four shots, all on goal. In the 63rd minute, Hughes got the ball from 40 yards out, and didn’t waste any time blasting the ball toward the net and into the right corner for her first goal of the season.
“Hayley spent half of the season last year as a striker so we know she’s dangerous going forward,” CU head coach Danny Sanchez said. “It was just a great shot, their goal keeper Abby Steele is a great goal keeper. I feel she’s one of the top goal keepers in the league and to beat her today, we needed something special and that was a special shot from Hayley.”
With continued defensive pressure, the Buffs’ 1-0 lead would hold through regulation to give the Buffs their 10th win of the season. The win was the Buffs’ first over the Ducks in four meetings. The Buffs (10-2 overall, 1-1 Pac-12 Conference) have recorded back-to-back conference wins for the second time since joining the Pac-12, with the previous consecutive wins coming at USC and Arizona last season.
Oregon falls to 2-6-3, 0-2-1 Pac-12, with all of their defeats being determined by a single goal.
“All twelve teams (in the conference) are quality, and I think it’s maybe more of a situation where Oregon is desperate for result with where their season is going and that’s a dangerous team.” Sanchez said. “You can see the dangerous players that they have. I’m really pleased with how we came out, both halves. I felt the first twenty minutes of the game and the first twenty minutes of the second half were very good. And then at the end of the day … we defended great. They have dangerous players. So I’m just really pleased to get the result and to get a shut out.”
Though Oregon outshot Colorado 15-13 (including a nine to five differential in the second half), the Buffs were consistently more on target, hitting nine to Oregon’s four on goal.
The game was also a battle of two outstanding goal keepers, who combined for a total of 12 saves. Oregon’s Abby Steele leads the conference in saves and ranks in Oregon’s all-time top four in shutouts, wins and saves. Annie Brunner continues to have the best season of her career at Colorado. She currently ranks in the conference’s top five in shutouts and goals-against average.
With Sunday’s victory, Brunner becomes one of just four CU keepers to record at least 10 wins in a single season. For the second straight season, Brunner has shutout at least seven opponents (joining 2003 Big 12 Championship team member Jessica Keller as the only Buffs to have had back-to-back seasons with at least seven shutouts each year).
“I think at the end of the day it was just a good hard fought Pac-12 game,” Sanchez said. “I thought both goal keepers were very good. I thought Brunner was rock solid today dealing with those set pieces and a lot of corner kicks late when Oregon was pushing numbers. I thought it was a good hard fought game.”
The game began with Oregon keeping pressure in Buffs’ territory, but not being able to get any good looks at the net or retain possession for long.
Though Colorado and Oregon State had scored all three of their goals in the first 14 minutes on Friday, it wasn’t until the 14th minute on Sunday that a team was able to take a shot. A Bianca Jones free kick was sent over the wall, where Olivia Pappalardo was able to get her head on the ball, though she couldn’t get a shot. Darcy Jerman was ready for the rebound, but sent the ball just high. The Buffs continued on the attack, with Hughes, Jerman and Madison Krauser all making Steele work for saves in just over a one minute span.
Nineteen minutes into the first half, Oregon was finally able to get their first shot off, though Pugh was off her mark. The Buffs got back-to-back looks at the net in the following minutes, with Anne Stuller sending a free kick just over the post in the 22nd minute.
The Ducks responded with three consecutive shots of their own. Maryn Beutler and Lilly Archer were both blocked by the strong CU defense. Oregon continued to press the Buffs’ net, but Pugh once again shot wide.
The Buffs would only get one more opportunity before halftime. With under seven minutes remaining, they took a corner kick. Though no Buff got the first ball, Paxton was able to take it back and edge to the left side, but was blocked.
Oregon caused a stir in front of the net in the final three minutes of the first half. Ryann Davie got to the net, but shot the ball high. Following the Ducks’ corner kick, Riley Smith was right at the net, but got blocked, keeping the game scoreless at the break.
The opening of the second half was full of action. The Ducks and Buffs would trade off two shots apiece in the first nine minutes. For CU, Krauser was blocked in the 47th and Hughes sent a deep shot at Steele in the 51st. In the 48th and 54th minutes, Oregon’s Archer and Pugh both made Brunner work for saves.
In the 63rd minute, Hughes took an amazing shot from deep to put the Buffs up 1-0.
“The ball just kind of popped out, I was at the top of the box and it just happened to hit me,” Hughes said. “I chested it and it just fell perfectly to my feet and not I’m going to say I was aiming for the top corner, but you know, I kind of just got a good strike on it and it just bent kind of into that corner away from the keeper. I’m really pumped about it. It’s my first goal this season.”
The Buffs kept the pressure high following Hughes’ goal. CU and Oregon traded off shots in the following six minutes, with Alyssa Herwatt getting the ball from the right and taking a close range shot that Steele had to hop on for the save. The Buffs backline had a few close calls in the 71st minute. First, Beutler shot the ball to the far post, forcing Brunner to dive for the save. The ball was deflected off Brunner’s fingertips and Ashlee Schulz came in for the rebound at the left post, but hit the ball just wide.
“That’s a really athletic team,” Hughes said. “They’re good players. It’s great to get up 1-0, but then you know the attack is going to be after you. I think us four in the back, obviously just the whole team had to stay really compact and just work off each other and I think we had great coverage. I’m just really proud of everyone. We defended as a team.”
The Buffs continued to focus on defense, allowing just three more shots in the final 16 minutes.
“It‘s awesome,” Brunner said of the win. “I feel like we finally have the grit. We were in all these games last year, but we finally have the grit to get it through and win.”
The Buffs leave the Centennial State for the first time this season for a three game road trip. CU takes on Washington State at 2 p.m. MT on Friday, Oct. 11 and faces Washington at noon MT on Sunday, Oct. 13. The Buffs return to Berkeley, Calif. to take on California (where they earned their first victory in the Pac-12) at 1:30 p.m. MT on Friday, Oct. 18 before returning for their final two home games.
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Marlee Horn Graduate Assistant SID University of Colorado O: 303.492.7525 C: 719.821.0689 marlee.horn@colorado.edu CUBuffs.com
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Simpson notches career-high kills to whip Washington State for a 3-1 Pac-12 record
Oct 7th
BOULDER — Junior outside hitter Taylor Simpson recorded a career-high 23 kills as the University of Colorado volleyball team defeated Washington State 3-1 to win its third straight Pac-12 Conference match this season.
The Buffs won 25-17, 25-21, 25-27, 25-19 to improve to 11-3 overall, 3-1 in the Pac-12. WSU is now 14-3, 1-3 in the Pac-12. This is the first time since 2006 that the Buffs have won three conference matches in a row.
“It was definitely a hard-fought match,” Simpson said. “They definitely put their hands on any hit that I had, but we had some good sets and were doing really well passing-wise. I thought it was a good match.”
Simpson hit .333 in the match with seven errors on 48 attacks. She also added seven digs and four blocks assists. Nikki Lindow had an error-free hitting night with 10 kills on 19 swings for a match-high .526 hitting percentage. At the net she led the Buffs with five block assists.
CU hit .278 in the win with 61 kills. Nicole Edelman had 45 assists and added six kills on 13 errorless attacks to hit .462. She also had a double-double with 10 digs. Alexis Austin and Kerra Schroeder each recorded seven kills for CU and Kelsey English tacked on another six in the victory. Cierra Simpson led CU in the back row with 14 of CU’s 49 digs.
Colorado out-blocked the Cougars 8.0-4.0. Besides blocks from Lindow and Taylor Simpson, English and Schroeder each put up three block assists and Austin added the final one for CU.
“I am very proud of them (the team),” coach Liz Kritza said. “We talked in the locker room before the match about this being more important than the match that we played on Friday. This is the follow-up match, and it’s the one that lets us show that it’s not just a team that can pull an upset and then dip down. It’s part of establishing our identity within this league and across the country nationally in volleyball.”
The Buffs held WSU to a .200 hitting efficiency with 54 kills and 26 errors on 140 attacks. The Cougars were led by Kyra Holt’s 19 kills and Jaicee Harris added 10 kills.
“It’s a victory and we took it,” Kritza said “It wasn’t pretty all the time. I can look at every single player on the roster, and they’re celebrating the fact that it was a victory, but they also know that there’s another side to this. We want continual improvement. We have to get back in the gym; we’re going back on the road for two weeks. We have four tough road matches, and the expectations are getting higher and higher within our group. That’s a very good thing. I always love that they know that I hate losing and love winning, but I want to put ourselves in a position to sustain these victories. This can be a really special season for us.”
The Buffs took a 13-7 lead in the first set before WSU called its first timeout. After the break, the Cougars got within two points (14-12) to force the Buffs to call a timeout of their own. The quick intermission worked well for CU as the team recorded an 8-3 run to go back up 22-15. From there the Buffs were able to finish the set with three of the next five points. Taylor Simpson had a hot hand in the frame, hitting .818 with nine kills and no errors on 11 swings. The Buffs hit .517 as a team with 17 kills and only two errors on 29 swings.
WSU led for the first part of the second set, taking an 11-6 lead. The Buffs started to put a stop to the Cougar’s attack and got back within a point at 13-12. CU continued its comeback and evened the score at 15-15. The Buffs went ahead of WSU with a 4-2 run (19-18) and from that point on the Buffs would never trail as they finished 25-21.
CU forced the Cougars to use a timeout after taking a 9-4 advantage to start the third set. Out of the break, WSU recorded a 5-3 run (12-9) and this time the Buffs decided to spend a timeout. CU retained the lead and went up 19-15, but the Cougars got back within a point at 21-20, so the Buffs used their final timeout of the set. The two teams would battle it out to the end and needed extra points, and in the end it was WSU with the 27-25 win.
The fourth set was a close fought one. The Buffs had a 14-10 lead before WSU took three straight points to get within a point at 14-13. After a quick CU timeout, the Buffs used a 6-3 run to take a 20-16 advantage. The Cougars tried to slow CU down with another timeout, but the Buffs were determined to finish the match and won the set 25-19.
The Buffs will head to northern California next week for a pair of matches. CU will face California on Wednesday, Oct. 9 at 8:30 p.m. MT. The Buffs will take on No. 7 Stanford on Saturday, Oct. 12 at 8 p.m. MT. Both matches will be televised regionally on the Pac-12 Network.
COLORADO BUFFALOES
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CU women’s 2013-2014 basketball schedule announced
Sep 10th
BOULDER – The 2013-14 University of Colorado women’s basketball schedule features 16 regular season home dates and 12 games against teams that participated in postseason events a year ago, head coach Linda Lappe announced on Tuesday.
In addition, the Pac-12 Conference announced Colorado would be featured on the Pac-12 Networks 15 times during the regular season, a school record number for television appearances in one campaign.
“It’s such an exciting opportunity to have 15 games on the Pac-12 Network,” Lappe said. “We are excited for that exposure.”
Colorado appeared on a program-best 13 national and regional telecasts in 2012-13, a figure that also included three postseason contests. Entering this season, the Buffaloes have tipped off on 112 national or regional telecasts since the Fall of 2001.
After a home exhibition game against the Colorado School of Mines on Saturday, Nov. 2 (7 p.m.), Colorado officially kicks off its 40th season of varsity women’s basketball at Colorado State on Tuesday, Nov. 12, at 7 p.m. It will be the first time since 2007 that the Buffaloes have started the season on the road, and the first time CSU has served as the Buffaloes’ opening opponent since 1979-80.
Colorado’s home opener, and the first of seven nonconference games at the Coors Events Center, takes place against Alcorn State on Friday, Nov. 15 (7 p.m.). The Buffaloes’ first Pac-12 Network contest will be played Wednesday, Nov. 20, as the Buffaloes host perennial Big Ten Conference power Iowa, with an 8:30 p.m. tip. The Hawkeyes were 21-13 in 2012-13, advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Following a road contest at New Mexico on Saturday, Nov. 23 (2 p.m.), the Buffaloes host their 27th consecutive Thanksgiving weekend tournament. Tabbed the Omni Hotels Classic for the fifth time, Colorado welcomes Rice, Samford and South Alabama to Boulder, Nov. 29-30. CU will take on South Alabama in the first round on Friday (7:30 p.m.) while Rice and Samford will clash in the opener (5 p.m.). The consolation (5 p.m.) and championship (7:30 p.m.) games follow on Saturday.
Colorado finishes the nonconference schedule with a challenging five-game stretch. The Buffaloes play back-to-back games against 2013 Postseason WNIT teams, first visiting Wyoming on Wednesday, Dec. 4 (7 p.m.) in Laramie and then by hosting Illinois out of the Big Ten on Saturday, Dec. 7. The Saturday tilt against Illinois will be a double-header day as the men’s basketball team hosts Kansas at 1:15 p.m. followed by the women’s game against the Illini at 5 p.m.
After a home contest with Denver on Thursday, Dec. 12 (7 p.m.), and a break for finals, the Buffaloes travel to play 2013 NCAA runner up Louisville on Saturday, Dec. 21, at 11 a.m. MT. Unranked Colorado pulled off a 70-66 upset of the Cardinals, ranked No. 8 at the time, in Boulder on Dec. 14, 2012. Colorado returns home after the holidays to host Southern Utah on Sunday, Dec. 29 (2 p.m.) in a final tune up for Pac-12 play.
“We will be challenged,” Lappe noted of her team’s nonconference schedule. “Quite a few of these games will help prepare us for conference play.”
Fourteen of Colorado’s 18 conference games will be televised on the Pac-12 Networks, including eight of nine at home. All home games, and conference road games, not televised on the Pac-12 Networks, will be available online through Colorado’s Pac-12 video player.
The Buffaloes’ Pac-12 schedule once again features home-and-home series with seven schools, and one-game battles with four others. Colorado will host Pac-12 co-champions California and Stanford, but will not return to the Bay Area this season. The Buffaloes will play at Oregon and Oregon State this year, while those two teams do not travel to Boulder.
Colorado’s previous one-game series rotation involved the Washington and Los Angeles area schools. The Buffaloes will play home-and-home sessions with those four programs for the first time since joining the Pac-12 in 2011.
Colorado’s Pac-12 schedule is also fairly balanced, alternating two home games one weekend, two road games the next, with one lone exception: a home-and-home series with travel partner Utah at the mid-point of the conference schedule.
Colorado opens its Pac-12 season with the Los Angeles trip, debuting at USC on Friday, Jan. 3 (9 p.m. MT, Pac-12 Network) and at 2013 NCAA participant UCLA on Sunday, Jan. 5 (either 8 or 9 p.m. MT, Pac-12 Network).
The Buffaloes return home to host 2013 NCAA Women’s Final Four participant California on Friday, Jan. 10 (8 p.m.) and turn around to battle defending league co-champion Stanford on Sunday, Jan. 12 (3 p.m.). Both contests are scheduled for the Pac-12 Network.
CU visits the Washington schools for the first time since January 2012, facing Washington State on Friday, Jan. 17, (TBA) and Washington on Sunday, Jan. 19 (5 p.m., Pac-12 Network). The Arizona duo visit Boulder the following weekend, Jan. 24 & 26. The Buffaloes host Arizona on Friday (7 p.m.) and Arizona State on Sunday (1 p.m., Pac-12 Network).
For the second straight season, Colorado faces its travel partner in back-to-back games. The Buffaloes travel to Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Jan. 29 (7 p.m.). Utah then returns to Boulder for a Feb. 2 “Super Bowl Sunday” matchup slated for 12 p.m. at the Coors Events Center. Both Utah games will appear on the Pac-12 Network.
Colorado makes its lone appearance against the Oregon schools, Friday, Feb. 7, at Oregon State (9 p.m., Pac-12 Network) and at Oregon on Sunday, Feb. 9 (TBA).
The Buffaloes finish with four of six at home, beginning with home dates with the Washington opponents, Washington on Friday, Feb. 14 (6:30 p.m. Pac-12 Network) and Washington State on Sunday, Feb. 16 (1 p.m., Pac-12 Network). Colorado travels to Arizona State on Friday, Feb. 21 (TBA) and Arizona on Sunday, Feb. 23 (3 p.m. Pac-12). The Buffaloes wrap up the regular season the same way they began, hosting UCLA on Friday, Feb. 28 (6 p.m. Pac-12) and USC on Sunday, Mar. 2 (12 p.m., Pac-12).
The 2014 Pac-12 Tournament returns to KeyArena in Seattle for the second time, scheduled for March 6-9. Please note that all times and dates remain subject to change.
Colorado returns nine letterwinners and four starters from its 2012-13 team that had its best season in more than a decade, compiling a 25-7 record and advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the 13th time in team history and first since 2004.
2013-14 UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO WOMEN’S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE
DATE OPPONENT LOCATION TIME (MST) TV
Saturday, Nov. 2 COLORADO MINES (Exhibition) BOULDER 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Nov. 12 at Colorado State Fort Collins, Colo. 7 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 15 ALCORN STATE BOULDER 7 p.m.
Wednesday, Nov. 20 IOWA BOULDER 8:30 p.m. P12N
Saturday, Nov. 23 at New Mexico Albuquerque, N.M. 2 p.m.
Nov. 29-30 &-27th ANNUAL OMNI HOTELS CLASSIC (Rice, Samford, South Alabama)
Friday, Nov. 29 &-Rice vs. Samford BOULDER 5 p.m.
&-SOUTH ALABAMA BOULDER 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 30 &-Consolation BOULDER 5 p.m.
&-Championship BOULDER 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Dec. 4 at Wyoming Laramie, Wyo. 7 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 7 ILLINOIS BOULDER 5 p.m.
Thursday, Dec. 12 DENVER BOULDER 7 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 21 at Louisville Louisville, Ky. 11 a.m.
Sunday, Dec. 29 SOUTHERN UTAH BOULDER 2 p.m.
Friday, Jan. 3 *at USC Los Angeles, Calif. 9 p.m. P12N
Sunday, Jan. 5 *at UCLA Los Angeles, Calif. 8 or 9 p.m. P12N
Friday, Jan. 10 *CALIFORNIA BOULDER 8 p.m. P12N
Sunday, Jan. 12 *STANFORD BOULDER 3 p.m. P12N
Friday, Jan. 17 *at Washington State Pullman, Wash. TBA
Sunday, Jan. 19 *at Washington Seattle, Wash. 5 p.m. P12N
Friday, Jan. 24 *ARIZONA BOULDER 7 p.m.
Sunday, Jan. 26 *ARIZONA STATE BOULDER 1 p.m. P12N
Wednesday, Jan. 29 *at Utah Salt Lake City, Utah 7 p.m. P12N
Sunday, Feb. 2 *UTAH BOULDER 12 p.m. P12N
Friday, Feb. 7 *at Oregon State Corvallis, Ore. 9 p.m. P12N
Sunday, Feb. 9 *at Oregon Eugene, Ore. TBA
Friday, Feb. 14 *WASHINGTON BOULDER 6:30 p.m. P12N
Sunday, Feb. 16 *WASHINGTON STATE BOULDER 1 p.m. P12N
Friday, Feb. 21 *at Arizona State Tempe, Ariz. TBA
Sunday, Feb. 23 *at Arizona Tucson, Ariz. 3 p.m. P12N
Friday, Feb. 28 *UCLA BOULDER 6 p.m. P12N
Sunday, Mar. 2 *USC BOULDER 12 p.m. P12N
March 6-9 Pac-12 Tournament Seattle, Wash. TBA P12N & ESPN2
March 22-25 NCAA 1st & 2nd Rounds TBA TBA ESPN & ESPN2
March 20-April 1 NCAA Regionals TBA TBA ESPN & ESPN2
April 6 & 8 NCAA Women’s Final Four Nashville, Tenn. TBA ESPN & ESPN2
All Home Games In BOLD CAPS
*-Pac-12 Conference Game
&-Omni Hotels Classic, Boulder
P12N – Pac-12 Network
Dates and times are subject to change
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