Oregon forward Kristen Parr looks to a teammate while keeping the ball from Colorado’s Carly Bolyard during the first half of the game on Sunday, Oct. 12 in Eugene, Ore. The Buffs won both games this weekend. (Courtesy Cam Christensen/Oregon Daily Emerald)
Road trips are difficult in Pac-12 women’s soccer. Five-game road trips are even harder, but it hasn’t seemed to bother the University of Colorado.
This past weekend, the Buffs won both games during a trip to Oregon, defeating the Oregon State University Beavers and the University of Oregon Ducks.
Last Friday, CU (8-4) traveled to Corvallis first to face OSU (0-9-3). The Beavers were looking for their first win of the season and in Pac-12 play. From the opening whistle, the Buffs controlled most of the pace and tempo, shooting the ball 17 times over the course of the game. Sophomore forward Brie Hooks continued her current run-of-form, scoring in the 46th minute.
The story of the second half was one of the Buffs managing their lead. They finished the game with a 1-0 victory. The game-winning goal is Hooks’ 5th of the season, which leads the team, and senior goalkeeper Kate Scheele recorded her seventh clean sheet of the season. Oregon State remained winless, while the Buffs would take the win in stride to travel south to Eugene for their Sunday matchup against the Ducks.
Once in Eugene, the Buffs overcame some early adversity to win their second straight game, 2-1. CU fell behind in the seventh minute, but two goals from junior midfielder Kahlia Hogg saw Danny Sanchez’s Colorado squad advance to 10-4 on the year.
Down 1-0 in the second half, Brie Hooks played the ball into the box and found Hogg, who slotted the ball home for her third goal of the season. Ten minutes later, the Australian found the net again, cleaning up a loose ball in the box and pushing it past the goalkeeper for the game winner.
The Ducks dropped to 6-5-2 overall and 2-2-1 in conference play. Colorado is now 3-2 in the Pac-12, sitting in sixth place, while UCLA is in pole position. The Buffs only have one more match before they return to Prentup Field for a four-game home stand. That last leg of the road trip is to Northern California, where the Buffs will face Stanford University. The Cardinals are ranked third nationally and haven’t lost a game yet this season, but CU is a strong team and head coach Danny Sanchez is one win away from 300 career wins. The Buffs play Stanford on Thursday, Oct. 16 and the game will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Network.
Contact CU Independent Assistant Sports Editor Andrew Haubner at Andrew.haubner@colorado.edu.
