QUICKLY: The
Colorado soccer team hits the road for a final time in the regular season to
take on the Arizona schools. The Buffs face Arizona on Friday at 4 p.m. and
Arizona State on Sunday at 5 p.m. Both games will be broadcast on the Pac-12
Networks. Colorado earned its first conference win of the season against USC,
improving the Buffs' record to 7-7-3 overall, 1-6-1 Pac-12.
COLORADO VS.
ARIZONA: The Buffs and Wildcats have met just once. In CU's first year in
the Pac-12, they tied 2-2 in double overtime at Prentup Field. Anne Stuller had
the first two goal game of her career. The Buffs grabbed a 2-1 lead off
Stuller's unassisted goals, but the Wildcats evened the score in the 85th
minute.
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS: Colorado and Arizona each have a single win in
the Pac-12. The Wildcats (5-9-3, 1-5-2) are led by Jazmin Ponce, with eight
goals and two assists. Seven other Wildcats have scored, including five players
with two goals apiece. Their last win was on September 21 over Pac-12 contender
California.
COLORADO VS. ARIZONA STATE: The Buffs are winless in three meetings with
the Sun Devils. Last season was the teams' first matchup in over a decade, with
CU falling 1-0 at Prentup Field. This will be the second time the Buffs have
visited Sun Devil Soccer Stadium.
SCOUTING THE SUN DEVILS: Arizona
State (7-8-2, 3-4-1) sits in the middle of the Pac-12. Cali Farquharson and
Devin Marshall lead the Sun Devils with a combined 13 goals and five assists.
Nine other players have scored at least one goal. Last weekend ASU tied Oregon
State 1-1 in double overtime and beat Oregon 2-1.
LAST WEEK: Two Buffs
from the backline scored goals in a split weekend in Los Angeles. First up for
the Buffs was No. 3 UCLA. Though the Bruins had only allowed five goals going
into the game, the Buffs scored at the 85 minute mark. Bianca Jones got the
ball from Quinn Krier to strike the ball from 40 yards out. Jones not only
netted the first goal of her career, but also took the first shot of her career
to put CU on the board. The Buffs gained momentum in the final five minutes,
but fell 2-1 to the Pac-12 leaders.
PAC-12 VICTORY: CU claimed its first conference victory of the season on
Sunday, Oct. 19 against USC. The Buffs went into a second overtime for the
fourth time this season. But this time, Colorado ended the extra minutes with an
exclamation point, grabbing a 1-0 win over the Women of Troy. Hayley Hughes had
a short throw-in to Anne Stuller who set up the play. Stuller avoided two USC
defenders, turned and crossed to the Buffs in front of the net. Senior captain
Amy Barczuk got the ball and slid left past the defense to net her third goal
of the season and lead the Buffs to their seventh shutout of 2012.
AY, AY CAPTAIN: Senior captain Amy Barczuk has been an immensely
versatile player for the Buffs this season. She is second on the squad in
points and goals, netting three goals and contributing an assist. Barczuk hit
her first ever game-winner on Sunday in the CU's 1-0 victory over USC, earning
her CU Athlete of the Week honors. Barczuk ranks 11th all-time for the Buffs
with 119 shots attempted in her career. With just one more start and two more
games played, she will break into CU's career record books. Only nine other
Buffs have started at least 74 of at least 77 games played. Barczuk has played
mid-back for Colorado this season, helping the Buffs to seven shutouts.
BRUNNER AND THE BUFFALO BACKLINE: Sunday's win against USC was the Buffs' seventh shutout of the
season, the third most in a single season at CU. Brunner's five shutouts in
2010 also place her in a tie at seventh place for CU. She ranks third all-time
for the Buffs with 14 career shutouts. Brunner is joined by an experienced
backline who can work the entire pitch, with backs Bianca Jones and Amy Barczuk
both scoring goals last weekend.
QUINNING: Quinn Krier
has had a career senior campaign. With one goal going into 2012, Krier has
contributed five assists this season alone. Krier assisted Bianca Jones to the
Buffs' goal against No. 3 UCLA. She now ties Katie Griffin (2006) for third
most assists by a senior. She is one of 16 players in CU history to have at
least five assists in a single season.
STELLAR STULLER: Junior Anne Stuller contributed an assist to the game-winning goal
against USC and continues to move up in the CU record books. With 67 shots in
2012, Stuller moves past Fran Munnelly (2005) for seventh in single season
shots. Stuller also jumped to sixth on the single season list with 34 shots on
goal, a mark that surpasses her SOG total from her first two seasons combined.
Stuller improved in the career record book as well, claiming eighth place with
63 shots on goal. She scored her eighth goal of the season on October 5 against
California, moving her into 10th on the Buffs' all-time list with 13 goals.
Stuller ties Nikki Marshall (2008) for fourth most goals by a junior. With 18
points, Stuller ties Melissa Cartmell (1999) for sixth place on the junior
list.
ROAD TRIP: CU has lost
just twice on the road this season, holding a 3-2-3 record away from Prentup
Field (not including a 2-1 neutral site win over Cincinnati in Denver), and a
2-1-2 record outside of the Centennial State.
NAIL BITERS: Five of the Buffs' seven losses this season have been determined
by just a single goal. All but one of Colorado's Pac-12 losses this season have
been one goal defeats, with two of those games going into overtime.
TIME AFTER TIME: Sunday's overtime play was familiar territory for both CU and USC.
The teams had played into extra time a combined total of 11 times going into
the game. The Buffs have now gone into overtime in six games, four of which
went to a second overtime. Half of the Buffs' conference match-ups have gone
into overtime. From 2006-10, CU went into overtime at least five times each
season. The Buffs are still far from the record set in 2010. That season, the Buffs
went into extra minutes nine total times, including once in the postseason.
COMING UP: CU soccer returns to Prentup
Field one last time this season on Friday, Nov. 2 to square off against Utah.
The game is at 3 p.m., and the first 100 fans in attendance will receive a FREE
autographed CU soccer poster in honor of Senior Day! The first 100 fans will
also receive a FREE Gatorade Squeeze Bottle courtesy of game sponsor Gatorade.
Come out to the game and support the seniors!
ALL-STAR ATHLETES: Four
Buffs have received major honors this season.
Oct. 15-20: Amy Barczuk, CU Athlete of the Week
vs.
Southern California W 1-0 2 shots 1
goal 2 points
Barczuk
scored the game winner in the 105th minute of the double overtime contest to
help the Buffs claim their first conference win and their seventh shutout of
the season.
Sept. 10-16: Annie Brunner, CU Athlete of the Week
vs.
Wyoming W 2-0 0 goals allowed 4 saves
vs.
Air Force W 2-0 0 goals allowed 4 saves
Brunner
recorded back-to-back shutouts for the second weekend this season. Brunner and
the Buffs' defense shut out five opponents through their first nine games.
Aug. 27-Sept. 2: Madison Krauser, CU Athlete of the Week
vs.
Northwestern T 2-2 3 shots 1
goal 2 points
Krauser's
first goal of the season came just minutes after captain Amy Barczuk scored in
the second half. She is the only freshman to have started every game.
Aug. 20-27: Anne Stuller, Pac-12 Conference Offensive Player of the Week, CU
Athlete of the Week, Soccer America Women's Team of the Week
vs.
LIU W 2-0 6 shots 2
goals 4 points
vs.
Wright State W 2-1 5 shots 2
goals 4 points
Stuller
joined Nikki Marshall (2006) and Katie Griffin (2005) to become only the third
player in CU history to have three multiple goal games in a single season, with
her other two-goal game happening at Northern Colorado.
Aug. 13-19: Annie Brunner, Pac-12 Conference Defensive Player of the Week
vs.
Northern Colorado W 3-0 0 goals allowed 3 saves
vs.
Colorado College T 0-0 0 goals allowed 5 saves
Brunner
shut out both teams in the Colorado Cup and also shut out LIU in the Omni
Hotels Colorado Women's Soccer Classic. It was the first time in CU history the
Buffs started their season with three shutouts and the first time since 2008
the team had three shutouts in a row.
Anne Stuller, CU Athlete of the Week
vs.
Northern Colorado W 3-0 3 shots 2
goals 4 points
vs.
Colorado College T 0-0 2 shots
Stuller's first goal of the game came at the 5:03 mark, assisted
by Hayley Hughes. Head coach Danny Sanchez described her second goal off a free
kick as a "world-class strike." Stuller helped the Buffs to their second
consecutive Colorado Cup, winning with a 3-1 overall goal differential.
