The Buffs were confident coming in against the No. 8 Texas A&M Aggies, but by the end of the game their confidence had been run over.
The Buffs fought hard in the first half, but gave up a quick goal in the eighth minute as the Buffaloes’ goalkeeper, Kristin Radlinski, let a high shot go through her hands and into the back of the net.
After giving up a quick goal, the Buffs came back strong, getting three solid shots at goal, but all were stopped by the Aggies’ goalkeeper. The Buffs were gaining momentum until the Aggies’ good passing game led to a ground shot from just inside the keeper’s box.
The Buffs lost their confidence when this second goal was put up on the scoreboard. Players were less aggressive and became frustrated with their play.
The Buffs’ fans didn’t give up though. A crowd of 1,315 fans cheered them on, hoping that someone would be able to get a shot past the Aggies’ goalkeeper. However, blown opportunities on breakaways and poor passing prevented the Buffs from getting a much-needed goal.
After halftime, there was a glimmer of hope that the Buffs would be able to pull out a win, but with a stringent A&M defense this would be much harder than it appeared.
There was a switch in Colorado’s goalkeeper after the half; Kara Linder came in to replace Radlinski. This move proved to be beneficial to the Aggies, as they scored their third and final goal in the first minute of the second half on a slow shot that managed to find its way past three Buff defenders and the goalkeeper.
The girls continued to try to move the ball down the field, but the Aggies’ defense was too fast and physical for the Buffs.
The final 44 minutes of the second half was a display of strong defense and a well-executed game of keep-away by the dominate Texas A&M team. The Buffs were only able to produce a couple unsuccessful chances to score.
After 33 minutes into the second half, Head Coach Bill Hempen had a line change and put in all the backup players. The new line-up went in and played with energy, as if the score were 0-0.
It was a disappointing 90 minutes of soccer for the Buffs, but they walked away with a lot of learned lessons to take to their game against the No. 22 Texas Longhorns on Oct. 8.