Women’s soccer gets back on track in key win
The CU women’s soccer team rolled up the Nebraska Cornhuskers Friday afternoon, 4-0.
After a dismal performance against Texas Tech in their Big 12 opener, the Buffaloes faced an excruciating week of practice prior to Friday’s engagement with the Huskers.
“We were told to bring a bucket to practice last weekend,” sophomore forward Nikki Marshall said. “We had 7 a.m. practices Saturday and Sunday, and they worked us hard . lots of running, because we needed to stop playing un-energized. It was tough and we soon found out why we brought a bucket.”
Despite the rigorous practices leading up to Friday, the Buffaloes looked like a completely re-energized team facing Nebraska in Boulder.
The game took off at the 10:48 point, as midfielder Nikki Keller took the rebound off Nebraska goalkeeper Jessica Mills, and punched it in with her head.
Two minutes and three seconds later, forward Mel Hicks crossed the ball to Marshall, who tapped it in to make it two-zip.
Less than eight minutes after that, Hicks, this time set up Kym Lowry, clunked it past the Nebraska goalkeeper to make the score 3-0
Just over ten minutes later in the first half, the junior midfielder Alex Cousins passed the ball to Marshall, who sprinted down the length of the field and notched her second goal of the game at the 32:48 mark of the first half.
Four goals in just over twenty minutes, and the Huskers never regained.
As the second half began, the teams looked to level off as neither scored, but the damage was already done as the first Big 12 win for the Buffs looked promising.
“We worked off each other today,” said Hicks, who gathered two assists in the game. “We felt chemistry today, the defenders were moving it to the midfielders and the midfielders put it up front and things worked out.”
The game totals for each club, however, were surprisingly indistinguishable as the game ended.
The Huskers out-shot the Buffs 16-13, and Nebraska mirrored the Buffs save total at four. But the scoreboard showed the Buffs had claimed their sixth win of the season.
“A lot of bounces went our way today,” said head coach Bill Hempen. “All of the bounces and touches and tackles that have been going against us went our way today.”
The Buffs have little time to marvel in their 4-0 walloping of the Huskers, as they return to Boulder on Sunday, Oct. 7 at 1 p.m. when they take on the Iowa State Cyclones, looking to wrap up the weekend with their second Big 12 Conference victory.
Practice tomorrow for the Buffs should be much lighter as a result of Friday’s victory.
“They won’t be needing their buckets,” Hempen said.
Contact Campus Press Staff Writer Brent New at brent.new@thecampuspress.com
