The University of Colorado women’s soccer team (7-4-1) stumbled in their first conference road trip this weekend, falling to Oregon 1-0 on Friday and Oregon State 2-0 on Sunday.
After opening conference play with a big win over California, who at the time was ranked No.14 in the country and who now remains in the Top 25 at No.23, the Buffaloes failed to capitalize on that momentum in their road trip to the Pacific Northwest.
In the first game of the weekend in Eugene, the Buffs found themselves locked in a defensive battle throughout the first half with the Ducks. It wasn’t until the 74th minute that Oregon’s Kyra Fawcett, a first year forward for the team, broke the scoreless tie with a headed goal off of a free kick delivered by sophomore defensive player Caitlyn Wong.
Colorado actually had more shots in the match, nine against Oregon’s eight, but the Buffs were unable to find the back of the net in the contest. It was a theme that would unfortunately hold true through the weekend.
In Sunday’s showdown at Corvallis, Colorado once again failed to score in a 2-0 loss. Oregon State opened scoring in the 27th minute with a shot from center field by senior defender Gwen Bieck. In the second half it would be a different Beaver, sophomore forward Nikki Faris, to score for Oregon State in the 86th minute. Faris’ goal came off of a cross from sophomore forward Emma Jones, and with one swift kick Faris finished off the cross and the Buffaloes.
Colorado again managed a fair number of shots, 10 in the contest, but only four of those were on goal. The Buffaloes were also plagued by five offside calls in the loss to Oregon State, which could account for other potential scoring opportunities missed by Colorado.
Colorado’s woes against the Oregon teams this weekend are uncharacteristic for the Buffaloes, who, so far this season, have thrived in low scoring affairs behind a strong defense and senior goalie Kate Scheele. The Buffaloes now fall to 1-2 in the Pac-12, but remain a strong 7-4-1 overall.
Up next for the Buffaloes will be a weekend series at home against another pair of teams from the Pacific Northwest. Colorado will host Washington on Friday, Oct. 9 at 3 p.m. and the Buffs will host Washington State on Sunday, Oct. 11 at 1 p.m. The game against the Huskies will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Mountain and Pac-12 Washington, while the Washington State game will be available via a live stream provided by CU.
Contact CU Independent Sports Editor Sam Routhier at samuel.routhier@colorado.edu and follow him on twitter @samrouthier.
