QUICKLY: Colorado
opens its home season against some new faces in the Omni Hotels Colorado
Women's Soccer Classic. The Classic begins with Wright State taking on Denver
at 1:30 p.m. on Friday. Then the Buffs take to Prentup Field for the first
time of the 2012 season in the team's first meeting with LIU Brooklyn. Sunday
begins with a match-up between LIU Brooklyn and Denver at 11 a.m., and
concludes with the Buffs facing first-time opponent Wright State at 1:30 p.m.
COLORADO VS. LIU BROOKLYN: This is the
first meeting between the Buffs and Blackbirds.
SCOUTING THE BLACKBIRDS: The
Blackbirds lost their season opener 2-0 at Seton Hall, taking six shots and
saving the ball seven times. LIU returns seven starters from last year's team,
including forward/midfielder Jen Spicer, who scored seven goals last season.
The team ended the 2011 season with a 12-8-1 record and made it to the first
round of the NCAA Tournament.
COLORADO VS. WRIGHT STATE: This is the
first meeting between the Buffs and Raiders.
SCOUTING THE RAIDERS: The Raiders
are off to a 2-0 start this season, shutting out both Ohio and Mount Vernon
Nazarene. Senior Emily Fillon already has two goals this season, scoring in
both games. In 2011, the Raiders finished 10-8-3 and fell 5-1 in the Horizon
League Tournament Finals to No. 15 Milwaukee.
LAST WEEK: The Buffs
took home the Colorado Cup for the second consecutive year, and are off to a
1-0-1 start. In the opener, CU shut out Northern Colorado for the sixth time in
as many meetings. The 3-0 win helped them to the Cup title after CU's game
against Colorado College ended in a 0-0 draw.
PAC-12 DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE
WEEK: Junior Annie Brunner started the season off hot, earning Pac-12
Defensive Player of the Week honors for her impressive outing in the second
annual Colorado Cup. Her eight saves place her at second on the Pac-12 season
list of most saves, and her two shutouts rank her at the top of the Pac-12. She
came up big against Northern Colorado in the Cup opener, saving the ball three
times. It marked the sixth time in as many meetings that the Buffs have shut
out the Bears. Her second shutout of the weekend came against Colorado College.
Her most important save of the game happened in the final minute, allowing the
game to finish in a 0-0 draw.
ALL TIED UP: Sunday's 0-0
draw was the Buffs' first tie of the season. It marked Annie Brunner's sixth
tie as goalkeeper, moving her into sole possession of second place on CU's
all-time ties list.
STULLER
GETTING GOALS: Junior Annie Stuller answered head coach Danny Sanchez's wishes
for the season when she scored the first two goals in the Buffs' 3-0 win over
Northern Colorado. Her two goals tied her for fourth on CU's single game
records list. Her first goal came at the 5:03 mark, assisted by Hayley Hughes.
The second goal was what head coach Danny Sanchez described as a "world-class
strike" of a free kick.
FRESHMEN DEBUTS: Freshmen
Nikola Machalek, Emily Paxton, Madison Krauser, Ashley Love, Courtney Dudley,
Elise Romano, Jenna Glad and Olivia Pappalardo all made their debut in the
Colorado Cup. Machalek and Paxton both had big games against Northern Colorado.
In the 71st minute, they connected to put the game away. Paxton found Machalek
who pushed her way to the net from the right side to give the Buffs the
decisive 3-0 lead.
HOME OPENERS: The Buffs
hold an 11-4-1 record in home openers. Last year CU beat Northern Colorado 3-0
to open their home season and win the Colorado Cup. The last time the Buffs
lost their home opener was in 2003 to No. 2 Portland (1-0).
AY, AY CAPTAIN: Amy Barczuk
was chosen by her teammates as the 2012 team captain. Barczuk is making a
transition to the defensive end of the ball this season, assisting fellow
seniors Erin Bricker and Quinn Krier in the veteran backfield.
HEAD COACH DANNY SANCHEZ: Sanchez
started his first season with the Buffs with a 3-0 win against Northern
Colorado, helping the Buffs to their second consecutive Colorado Cup trophy.
Sanchez came to CU after spending the last four with the University of Wyoming.
He
is joined by assistant coaches Jason Green and Don Trentham, who coached with
Sanchez at Wyoming, and volunteer assistant coach Rebekah Patrick. In his 17
years of coaching, Sanchez has built a stellar 268-60-24 record, including a
pair of Division II National Championships at Metro State.
WHO'S RETURNING: The
Buffs return 14 players, including nine starters. Five returning players
competed in all 19 games in 2011 (Anne Stuller, Amy Barczuk, Carly Bolyard,
Shaye Marshall and Lauren Shaner). Seniors Barczuk, Marshall, Shaner, Quinn
Krier, Erin Bricker and Kayla Millar hope to end their CU careers on a high
note. Four of the team's top five scorers also return. Stuller, Barczuk, Hayley
Hughes and Darcy Jerman contributed 12 of the team's 21 goals last season.
WHO'S NEW: Colorado
welcomes aboard 13 newcomers, 12 of whom are freshmen. Nikola Machalek and
Heather Ward remain in their home state of Colorado. Madison Krauser, Ashley
Love, Amanda Simkins, Taylor Thurmond and former CU Gold club player Betsy
Builder all hail from California. Jenna Glad and Emily Paxton both come to
Colorado via Arizona, while Courtney Dudley and Elise Romano came from New
Mexico and New Jersey, respectively. Former Chicago-area club teammates Olivia
Pappalardo and Carly Manso round out the new crew.
PAC-12 COACHES POLL: Colorado was
picked to finish 11th in this year's Pac-12 Coaches Poll. Stanford, the
reigning NCAA Champion, received nine out of 11 possible first-place votes.
UCLA, Cal, Oregon State and Washington rounded out the top five. Arizona State
and USC followed, with Utah and Washington State tied for eighth. Oregon and
Arizona were chosen as 10th and 12th.
COMING
UP: The
Buffs have a bye next Friday before heading to Northwestern for a match-up on
Sunday, Sept. 2 at noon. It will be the teams' first meeting.
BUFF BRIGADE: Come join the Buff Brigade
cheering section and help give Prentup a real home field advantage. Located
at the north end of Prentup Field, the Brigade will be loud and spirited as
they cheer the Buffs onto victory. Don't miss your first opportunities to
be a part of this exciting new CU Soccer tradition!
To
celebrate the first home game of the season the first 500 fans will receive a
FREE CU Soccer t-shirt!
