2018 Colorado Buffaloes

Buffs 3, Air Force 0

It was not that close. No amount of effort on the part of the Falcons, and their effort was huge, could make up for the disparity in size and talent. I'm glad it wasn't, but the score could have been very lopsided. Libby Geraghty hit a goalpost, Alex Vidger hit the crossbar off a corner kick, and the Air Force goalkeeper ...

I've been out of the Air Force since 1972, but I'm pretty sure that the Uniform Code of Military Justice still prohibits theft. Unless it now makes an exception for stealing goals, the Air Force goalkeeper could be in trouble. She stole four from us, I mean stole. Not normal saves done by normal goalkeepers, she had a few of those. Blatant theft, right in front of everybody.

Their defenders played heroically, but at the end I think they just ran out of gas.

Kayleigh Webb's family surprised her by being there. She surprised them back with a goal nine minutes in, assisted by Jesse Loren ... both freshmen. At the end of the third quarter it was still 1-0, then Tatum Barton and Taylor Kornieck gave us the final margin.

The game was delayed 40 minutes by lightning, I stuck around for a while afterward, and the Hunger Demon struck on the way home. It's midnight, and I took more notes than usual, so I'll fill in the details tomorrow. But there's one thing I want to mention, or I should say one person ... Erin Greening. I don't know what happened at halftime, but in the second half, she was possessed. This is the fourth year I've been watching her play, but somehow I didn't realize that she is THAT fast. From her left side defender position, she made run after run after run, sometimes with the ball, sometimes without, creating massive havoc. How she didn't score or assist, I don't know. If she does this on Sunday, our fans are in for a treat.

 

Which leaves Colorado College and Northern Colorado on Thursday, CC 2-1 in Greeley.

In exhibitions, CC lost at Grand Canyon 3-1, it was over very early and the CC goal was put in by Grand Canyon. Did better two days later, scored with 18 seconds left to tie Arizona State 1-1. This was destined to be a low scoring game, shots on goal were 3-2 ASU.

UNC's exhibitions were 2-1 over Denver and 3-3 with the University of Calgary. Colorado State's was a 3-2 loss at Kansas. Denver's other exhibition was a 1-0 loss at home to Texas Tech, a game that was all Texas Tech (shots 24-5, on goal 12-1). And Air Force had lost at Michigan 6-1.

 

Perfect scenario ... she is the star of the game for the Rams in a 5-0 CU win.

 

Buffs 0, Rams 0, 2 O/T

Really. I am not making this up.

I was there, I saw it happen. The Buffs did not underestimate CSU, but I did.

I will post this in sections because a couple of times I have had long posts disappear when I hit the POST REPLY button and I do not want to write this more than once.

Shots on goal were 10-7 Buffs. Missed shots were 20-4 Buffs, and that is the story of the game. Corner kicks 11-4 Buffs.

 

They don't have a thumb's down option. Thanks for the update.

 

Buffs 0, Rams 0, the first half

It had been great weather for soccer, cool and mostly overcast for the first two games, but the sun came out right as the game started. Was this a good omen? No.

Starters were Scout Watson in goal, Kelsey Aaknes, Hannah Cardenas, Jesse Loren and Erin Greening defending, Kayleigh Webb was the holding midfielder, Megan Massey, Taylor Kornieck and Sarah Kinzner at midfield, and Jorian Baucom and Libby Geraghty up front.

CSU had the first dangerous opportunity five minutes in when a free kick was headed just over the crossbar. The next 15 minutes were all Buffs. Taylor hit Jorian with a pass in the box and her shot just missed. Erin stole the ball and made a long run past a couple of Rams and shot just over the crossbar. A long free kick found Jesse and her header was saved. Sarah got clear for a shot and missed. At 20 minutes CSU broke the momentum with a hard shot right at Scout. At the end of the first quarter shots seemed like a gazillion to two, but on goal was only 1-1.

Early in the second quarter, Jorian missed a shot off a corner kick, and the game seemed to even out a bit. The crowd was eerily quiet. A CSU shot just missed left. A header off a Buff free kick missed. Stephanie Zuniga hit Marty Puketapu with a perfect pass into the box and Marty's shot missed. A CU corner kick went behind the goal, a favor that CSU returned two minutes later. Late in the half, Taylor got our second shot on goal. Sofia Weiner took a long hard shot that just missed left. As the final seconds were counted down, a Ram found herself with the ball and four Buffs between her and the goal. Somehow she got close enough for a hard shot and Scout's leaping save with two seconds left preserved the tie. At halftime, shots on goal were up to 2-2.

The second half followed, as it will here.

 

Buffs 0, Rams 0, Second Half

Same starting lineup but with JJ Tompkins in the net.

The Rams threatened immediately, but the Buffs cleared and one minute into the half, a CU free kick resulted in a header that missed, Then came two hard close-range shots a few seconds apart that resulted in two leaping saves by the Rams' goalkeeper, who was excellent all game. A crossing pass just missed Taylor right in front of the net. Five minutes into the half, a Ram got past everybody near midfield and JJ came WAY out to end the breakaway. Taylor made a face save on a close-range shot off a corner kick. A Ram took a long hard shot right at JJ. A CU corner kick resulted in a header right at the goalkeeper. Jorian faked out everybody and missed a shot at an open net. JJ came out to stuff a breakaway, and CSU took two consecutive corner kicks. All this happened in 15 minutes. As the third quarter ended, Kelsey took the ball to the end line and her crossing pass to two Buffs in the box was snatched by the goalkeeper.

A minute later, Jorian finished off a long run with a shot right at the goalkeeper. Then bad news, Erin went down and stayed down and eventually hobbled off the field with help. A CU corner kick led to a long rolling shot right at the goalkeeper. Tatum Barton beat two defenders to get a shot in the box that went wide left. Taylor just missed a header off a corner kick. Kelsey got close and shot over the crossbar. A brilliant pass from Taylor to Tatum close-in led to a hard shot and the leaping save of the game. As a CU corner kick was about to be taken, Taylor was slammed to the ground inside the box, yellow card but no penalty kick, I guess because the ball was not in play. A header off the subsequent corner kick landed on top of the net. Erin came back in !! Taylor took a long hard shot that the trees kept from traveling to Wyoming. As regulation ended, Jorian had a long run with the ball and the defender stayed with her just enough that the shot was softer than Jorian would have liked and was saved. Now THAT was a busy half of soccer.

Overtime to follow.

 

Buffs 0, Rams 0, the overtimes

Just over a minute in, there was a flurry of activity in front of the CSU goal that eventually resulted in Marty shooting over the goal. The Buffs got the ball right back and Tatum made a brilliant play against two defenders to keep it from going over the end line and force a Ram to kick it over the line, but the corner kick was cleared. Six minutes in, Marty, the ball and two defenders were a couple of yards from the goal, down went Marty, no call. The Buffs had possession in the first overtime, but still 0-0.

Erin shot wide left. Kelsey's free kick found Kayleigh in the box but her shot was blocked. Tatum shot over the goal. All that took two minutes. Erin made a long run to the end line but her crossing pass was snatched by the goalkeeper. Libby took a hard shot right at the goalkeeper. And the Rams held on in the final couple of minutes but the final minute was a bit ... I believe the word is chippy. A Buff, I thought it was Kelsey but the box score said Sarah, took exception to the manner in which she was pulled to the ground. Order was restored, one yellow card to each player, and as the final seconds were counted down, Jorian (with the ball) was mugged by three or four Rams.

As for the Colorado Cup, if Colorado College defeats Air Force in what is also a conference game for them, which I think they will, they win the cup. If they tie Air Force and we defeat Denver, we win it on goal differential. If they lose to Air Force and we tie Denver ... oh, never mind, I'm going to bed.

 

Correction ... she held her ground and saved the breakaway.

Here's another look at the save from @j_tompkins05#GoBuffs pic.twitter.com/o7IdjkTBbw

— Colorado Buffaloes Soccer (@CUBuffsSoccer) August 19, 2018

 

I feel your pain
I compose offline in Emacs (and save to local file), then paste.

And save your Word and Excel every few minutes

 

Im a fan of the buffs and am hoping they start finding the back of the net but there is more to it. There is no one who seems to be able to hold the ball in the middle of the field and it would be refreshing to see more play out of the back. Too many over the top long balls and panicked plays. When playing the big dogs this isnt going to cut it.

 

Thanks for the recap Derbarkasmann. I finally watched the game on facebook and it looks like they are up to the same old long ball tactics. Its amazing to me with a transfer like Sophie who was trained in virginia that they are not using her. I watched her play and she has amazing composure and she plays through the midfield which is what good teams like stanford and UCLA do. She can pass much better than some of the other obvious favorites out there. The buffs have probably one of the best midfielders in kornieck and she is just not used enough. I would love to see Sophie (#24 i think) and Kornieck working together. Also, it seems like zuniga and kornieck work much better together in the midfield. I can see that great things are coming with the new forward Baucom. she has great speed and she is a fighter..speaking of fighting...what the hell was that? No red card? I called a few of my referee buddies and they watched that ref performance and said she should be put on suspension for awhile. She was awful. But again...its not always the refs fault like everyone likes to blame...but in the case id have to disagree. UGH! and I think she is going to be around for awhile. Bottom line is that Baucom needs to be out there working with Kornieck and anyone else who wants to pass to her instead of being a hero and trying to do it all alone. I was very disappointed with the other midfielders...they were either selfish or without soccer mentality. That play yesterday is not going to cut it in the PAC 12. The freshman are NOT ready...maybe soon, but not now. I loved the tenacity of our two outside backs...Aaknes and Greening BRAVO!!! Just needs a quality pass towards the end of those runs and we have a winner!!

 

I was surprised by that. We used to rely on long balls WAY too much but I noticed much less of it last season.

Erin Greening has had a spectacular start to her season, she put on a performance in the second half at Air Force the likes of which I have never seen from an outside back. Most unfortunately, she's out for a month or so. My guess is that the injury that took her out of part of the CSU game turned out to be more than just an ouch. Sofia Weiner merits more playing time, but she's listed as a midfielder. Alex Vidger started at defender the last two years and the fact that she hasn't this year shows the depth this team has.

A "normal" amount of emotional energy against the Rams will leave us way short in that department. It often seemed like CSU had an extra player or two on the field.

I took a look at our history against the Rams. 2014: Won 2-0 in Boulder, both goals came late, shots were 22-3, missed shots 16-1. 2015: Tied 1-1 in Fort Collins, CSU led most of the game and our goal came very late off a deflection. The Buffs came out flatter than western Kansas and CSU took its only shot on goal of the entire game seven minutes in and scored. 2016: Back home, 2-1 Buffs, shots 29-5, missed shots 17-1. Last year in Fort Collins was the closest game in terms of the run of play, shots 20-8, we did get ten on goal but they kept us out of the net. Then last Sunday. Our far superior athletic ability led to lopsided statistics, their hustle kept the scores close.

 

Highlights of the CSU game. Close may count in horseshoes and hand grenades, but not in soccer. And I'd forgotten about the one cleared away from the empty net by a defender. I couldn't find this anywhere except Facebook and Twitter.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=602871753440318

 

Colorado 6-0 Missouri