Sophomore forward/defender Caroline Danneberg tries to keep the ball away from Utah opponents Sept. 11. (CU Independent file/Ilana Finer)
The No. 23 Colorado Buffaloes soccer team dropped their second game in a row, this time falling to the No. 3 Stanford Cardinal 4-0 on the first day of the Stanford/NIKE Classic.
The two-game skid is the longest of the season for the Buffs (4-4, 1-0 Big 12) as they also dropped a game to the Florida Gators last Sunday.
Colorado was over-matched on Friday night as Stanford (8-0) outshot the Buffs 24-9.
“They’re a very, very good team,” said CU head coach Bill Hempen in a news release. “We fought them hard, but we just never really got any offensive rhythm going that put them under any stress. We may have played one of our better games from the effort standpoint, but when you’re up against a team that’s loaded with national team players and regional performers, it was hard to keep up.”
The Buffs would keep it close in the first half with the Cardinal holding a 1-0 lead at halftime. Stanford’s Ali Riley scored the lone first-half goal in the 24th minute.
However, CU didn’t get their first shot on net until just over 10 minutes were left in the first half.
The Cardinal found the back of the net three more times in the second half with a Kelly O’Hara goal in the 50th minute, and two Morgan Redman goals in the 78th and 80th minutes.
Colorado will be back in action on Sunday for the final day of the Stanford/NIKE Classic as they will take on another top 15 team in No. 12 Santa Clara at noon.
Contact CU Independent Sports Editor Ron Knabenbauer at ronald.knabenbauer@colorado.edu.
