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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.”
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.
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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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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Two former CU Buffs go head-to-head in pro soccer championship
Aug 29th
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The inaugural National Women’s Soccer League championship game will be a battle between two Buffaloes.
Former teammates on the University of Colorado soccer team, Amy Barczuk (2009-12) and Nikki Marshall (2006-09) will this time compete against each other as the Western New York Flash and Portland Thorns FC meet in the championship game at Sahlen’s Stadium on Saturday.
“We are very excited that Nikki and Amy will be representing Colorado soccer in the first NWSL final,” CU head coach Danny Sanchez said. “It is a tremendous accomplishment for both of them and their teams. I have no doubt that the league will continue to grow. We wish them both the best of luck!”
The Western New York Flash earned the NWSL Shield, winning the regular season with a 10-4-8 record. In last Saturday’s semifinals, the Flash met No. 4 seed Sky Blue FC. Behind two goals by Carli Lloyd, the Flash eased their way to the championship game.
Barczuk, who was selected by the Flash in the second round of the NWSL draft (14th overall), made her third professional start in the semifinal game. Though having what she described as an up and down season that saw her getting minutes in seven regular season games, Barczuk went into the playoff game ready to show her physicality.
“I came in because one of our starting midfielders was injured,” Barczuk said. “I played in the game before that against Boston, so our last three regular season games. Playing in that third game helped me get kind of settled in the midfield. Playing in the semifinal game, my coach kind of expected the same physical play out of me – winning everything in the middle and kind of just being that physical presence. If I get the opportunity to play in the championship game, I’m just going to bring that same attitude, and it definitely will help to have that semifinal game experience.”
Marshall has plenty of experience heading into this year’s championship game. She has four years of professional experience under her belt, including a WPSL Elite championship with the Flash in 2012. This season, Marshall has played in and started all of Portland’s games, just one of three Thorns to do so, has played 1,871 minutes, ranking third on the team, and contributed one assist during the regular season.
Thorns FC entered the semifinals as the No. 3 seed and fell behind FC Kansas City 2-0 in the first 25 minutes. Marshall says her team was really good on paper, though seemed to struggle putting everything together in the regular season. It wasn’t until the team’s most recent games that momentum began to swing in their way.
“We’ve had a turnaround,” Marshall said. “I think we’ve kind of realized that we should be a really good team, and we haven’t been performing. We had a couple of meetings before the game on Saturday and just kind of talked about the fact that we need to be more of a team and that we need to maybe be more positive and encouraging and love each other more and play with joy. I think that’s what we did on Saturday. We went out and said, ‘This is unacceptable,’ and then came out on top.”
Kansas City took the early lead behind goals by NWSL Rookie of the Year Erika Tymrak and Melissa Henderson. Tobin Heath helped get the Thorns on the board in the 33rd minute with her first ever goal with the squad. Though Portland had a 0-4-1 regular season record when trailing at halftime, the team’s change in attitude helped break that.
In the 65th minute, Marshall helped give Thorns FC the equalizer, sending a ball to the middle of the penalty box to Tiffany Weimer. With two minutes remaining in the first overtime, Allie Long put the game out of reach, clinching Portland’s ticket to the championship.
“That was just a really exciting game for us,” Marshall said. “We were losing 2-0 in the beginning of the game. We showed a lot of character, and like I said before, I think this is the first time our team, Portland Thorns, has come together and really done something special. So that’s been huge. Getting the assist was awesome. My teammates are incredible, so if I can cross the ball in there, they’re very world-class and can finish anything regardless of what kind of cross it is. That was really exciting. It’s just fun to be part of something like that, especially when we come back from 2-0. It was just awesome.”
Marshall said that that team mentality and positive attitude will be necessary in this Saturday’s final, especially against the Flash, who has won three consecutive championship titles.
“I think we have a solid game plan, and I think that’s probably why we’ve also been on a kind of winning streak, because we have adjusted and it’s the first time in the season that we have done so,” Marshall said. “I think that we have to be a first half and a second half team. We can’t just be a second half team, and we can’t just be a first half team, because that’s how we’ve been all season and that’s been killing us. I think just having that attacking mentality from the very beginning and also being solid defensively is going to be huge for us. It’s going to be a great game. I don’t think there’s a better championship match. We’re excited for it.”
Though having won the 2012 title with the Flash, Marshall says she feels no need for revenge on her former team. If anything, she feels she needs to play to the standards of Flash head coach Aaran Lines.
“I just want to go in there and perform my best because I know that Aaran believes in me,” Marshall said. “He’s given me so much and developed me so much last year as a player. I want to play up to his standards of what he thinks of me.”
Barczuk also feels the need to live up to the high expectations Lines’ has for all his players. In Barczuk’s defensive/midfield position, that means using her 5-10 height and physicality to change the field, winning every head ball and playing the ball simply.
“Coach Lines has developed a great winning culture,” Barczuk said. “He has always had great players play for him, but now it’s about the culture. This would be the fourth championship in, I think, six years at the professional or semi-pro level. That’s pretty impressive. To give him all the credit, he’s just really developed a winning culture here at Western New York.”
There’s also a culture of greatness throughout the league. Barczuk says she’s grown immensely as a player, getting to train with some of the best players in the world, including teammates and U.S. National Team “poster children” Abby Wambach and Carly Lloyd. Wambach and Lloyd will meet their Olympic gold medal teammate Alex Morgan in the championship, something Barczuk and Marshall both believe will help give the game national attention.
“When you have any big name players, it brings attention, especially with Alex Morgan and Abby Wambach playing against each other,” Marshall said. “That’s what makes this league so special as well. The competition is fierce, and there’s not a huge margin of difference between anyone on any of the teams. Everyone has great players, and that’s what makes this so much fun and fun to watch as well.”
The national stage also helps give a spotlight to the two Colorado standouts. Barczuk says that despite Colorado not yet being one of the biggest soccer schools, like North Carolina and Stanford, she and Marshall’s appearance in the title game proves that smaller soccer programs can produce top level professional level players.
Despite the competitive nature of their next meeting, Marshall and Barczuk are excited to play each other, both barely containing their affection for one another.
“I’m just really proud of her,” Marshall said of her former teammate. “It’s always fun to play against your friends. Off the field you’re friends and on the field, you’re still friends, but you’re competitive and you battle with each other. I think it makes it all the more fun. I’m just really excited for her getting this opportunity, and I’m just really proud of her. She’s done a really good job this year.”
While their strong friendship will remain unscathed, one of them will be victorious in Saturday’s championship. The teams’ two previous meetings have both been draws: their first a 1-1 tie in Portland on July 14, and their most recent, a 0-0 draw on August 10 in Rochester. Despite the previous finishes, Barczuk knows the championship will be a whole different game.
“Obviously we hope to one: win the game, and two: win the game in 90 minutes without going into overtime, with no PKs or anything like that,” Barczuk said. “You look back on the last two games, and yeah, they both were ties, but it’s the same two teams, and this the championship game. I think this is almost a completely new type of environment to play in. I think there will be lots of action on Saturday.”
The inaugural NWSL championship game will air on FOX Sports 2 and FOX Soccer on Saturday at 6 p.m. MT.
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Marlee Horn
Graduate Assistant SID
University of Colorado
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