Buffs Look To Bounce Back In 2016

Head coach Danny Sanchez addresses his team at Wednesday's morning practice.

Photo by: Andy Schlichting

August 03, 2016 | Soccer

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By: Andy Schlichting, Assistant SID

BOULDER – When a team loses seven seniors, it is normal to think of the season as a rebuilding year. But that's not the case with the University of Colorado's soccer team in 2016, which opened the season with its first official training session at Prentup Field on Wednesday morning. Despite the turnover on the roster, CU has high expectations thanks to a solid group of returners and an excellent recruiting class.

The Buffaloes are coming off a disappointing 7-10-3 season, but advanced deep into the NCAA Tournament the previous two seasons under head coach Danny Sanchez, who is entering his fifth season in Boulder. He has amassed over 300 wins in 20 seasons as a collegiate head coach and is 43-32-10 in his four seasons at CU.

"We want to get back to being a NCAA Tourney team," Sanchez said. "We know how competitive the Pac-12 is, but we learned a lot from last year and are excited to get going."

Despite hitting a bump in the road last fall, CU rebounded with a strong spring season. The Buffs went 4-0-2 with wins over Nebraska, Colorado College, Denver and Air Force.

"I think that in the spring you want to play well and win, but really we [as coaches] want to see the individual players and we thought some players really took some strides forward that maybe didn't have the biggest roles last year," Sanchez said. "That's what the spring is for. We will see if that carries over. The unknown is the new players and seeing what they may add to it. Every player we bring in with the idea that they are going to play."

Of the four returning starters, two are seniors. Danica Evans, who tied for the team lead in goals scored a year ago, highlights the returners. She scored five times as a junior, matching Brie Hooks, who left the program, as the team's top scorer. Morgan Stanton is the other returning senior starter and the midfielder was a key in the team's flow from the back line to the attack in her 16 starts in 2015.

Joss Orejel made 17 starts as a left outside defender last year as a sophomore and gained valuable experience playing with Mexico's U-20 National Team over the summer. Sarah Kinzner is also back after starting all 20 matches and being named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman team last year. She started all five matches and scored two goals for Canada's U-20 National Team at the CONCACAF Championships last November.

Perhaps the most important piece to this season's lineup is the return of Kahlia Hogg, who started CU's first six matches last season before missing the remainder of the season with an injury. She earned a redshirt last season and will have another opportunity for her senior year as she is fully healthy this fall. In her six starts last year before the injury, the Buffs went 4-1-1, before going 3-9-2 in the final 14 matches without her presence.

"She's obviously a very good player, but her level of professionalism that she brings to training, to travel, to her academics, to everything, is first class," Sanchez said of Hogg. "The great thing about her as a player is she can play on any of the lines. She can play in the back, she can play in the midfield, she can play up top. It gives us flexibility, but first and foremost with her is, 'what can I do to help the team.' To have that kind of leadership presence as a fifth-year senior is invaluable for this team."

Several starting positions are up for grabs heading into fall camp, but none is more glaring than goalkeeper. CU is looking to replace two-year starter Kate Scheele, who is currently playing for the Houston Dash of the NWSL. Scout Watson returns as a sophomore after making four starts and posting a 1.89 goals-against average last year. However, Jalen Tompkins is expected to push Watson for playing time after redshirting last year. Tompkins led Pinnacle (Ariz.) High School to a state championship as a senior and did not allow a goal throughout the playoffs.

"JJ and Scout did very well in the spring so that competition will continue into the preseason and probably the fall," Sanchez said. "We're very pleased with both of them and what they did. Losing a two-year starter, there's an opportunity for these players."

Orejel is the lone returner to the defense, though with Hogg's versatility, she could factor into the back line. Others who saw significant action last season include Alex Vidger, who made three starts and 17 appearances as a freshman. Brooklyn Varnadore also started three times in her first year and junior Courtney Fedor made one start.

In the midfield, Kinzner and Stanton are both back, and Hogg also is a likely candidate to start. Senior Mikaela Kraus made five starts last year as well.

Evans is the top returning forward, but could be joined up top by two returners who saw limited action as freshmen last year. Both Erin Greening and Stephanie Zuniga were among the team's leading scorers in the spring. Greening had a team-high three goals and Evans and Zuniga each scored twice.

Sanchez's focus will be on the defensive half of the field during camp.

"We have a lot of depth in the midfield and the attack, a lot of personnel," Sanchez said. "It's really about how do we organize them and get the most out of them. But the two big pieces are in back and in goal."

The Buffs will welcome 10 newcomers into their lineup this season and several come with high accolades as it is perhaps the most decorated recruiting class CU has ever signed. Midfielder Taylor Kornieck is a team captain of the United States U-18 National Team and is one of two four-star recruits, according to Top Drawer Soccer. Kelsey Aaknes, a defender from California, is the other four-star recruit. Camilla Shymka is a member of Canada's U-20 National Team and played with Kinzner at the 2015 CONCACAF Championship.

Three transfers are expected to have an immediate impact as well. Senior Emily Bruder joins the Buffs from North Carolina, where she was the Tar Heels' leading scorer in 2014 and was a third-team all-ACC selection. Colorado native Megan Massey is coming home after spending her freshman season at Tennessee, where she appeared in 13 matches. She was an NSCAA first-team Youth All-American at Mountain Vista High School in 2015. Sophomore Isobel Dalton will see action as a midfielder after transferring from Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) College. She led her team to a runner-up finish in NAIA in 2015 with seven goals.

"Obviously with us losing a lot of players and us having 10 new players with our freshmen and transfers, like any year, we want to incorporate those players as quickly as we can and hopefully I can start to identify some starters and roles within it as soon as possible since our first game is August 19," Sanchez said. "It's not a lot of turnaround time in preseason so we really have to figure out who can help us."

Colorado opens the season on August 19 at Air Force, with its home opener two days later against Colorado State when CU hosts three Colorado Cup matches on August 21.

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