Sophomore midfielder Kelly Butler crosses past 'Huskers defense. The Buffs won 1-0 over visiting Nebraska Friday. (CU Independent/Lee Pruitt)
The fresh autumn breeze that gently swept through Prentup Field brought a reminder of fall’s arrival. Along with the season’s change returned the sweet scent of victory for the Colorado Buffaloes womens’ soccer team.
The Buffs (5-5, 2-0 Big 12 Conference) ended their victory drought at three games by beating archrival Nebraska (5-2-2, 0-1) 1-0 on Friday.
“I’ll be honest, our confidence was shaken; I could tell in training,” said CU head coach Bill Hempen. “Yesterday’s training wasn’t very good. I would have not preferred this kind of game trying to gain confidence. But I told the kids that it was a great exercise in perseverance.”
The exercise may have paid off, especially in the second half.
What began as a scuffle in the 68th minute between Nikki Marshall and Nebraska goalkeeper Tara Macdonald ended with Kassidy Fitzpatrick scoring her third goal of the season. The goal was assisted by junior forward Amanda Foulke.
Fitzpatrick considered the potential of the winning goal.
“We can go out onto Sunday and our next games knowing that anything is possible in this conference,” Fitzpatrick said.
Shut out in the last two games, the goal was CU’s first since its Sept. 13 loss to Florida.
The first half saw little action from Colorado as the Buffs defense focused on slowing down Nebraska, who was more active during the first half.
Freshman defender Amy Barczuk said there was some miscommunication during the first half between the defenders and midfielders regarding marking players that caused minor issues. But they were able to handle the Cornhuskers in the second half.
“We were staying more composed and organized,” Barcuzck said, referring to the second half.
With the help of Barczuk, the Buffs were able to stop Nebraska’s leading scorer, Morgan Marlborough, who had scored in six consecutive games.
Hempen said Barczuck’s height was a factor in matchups. Marlborough’s six-foot frame was well-matched against Barczuk’s 5-foot-10 height.
“We tried to put Amy on [Marlborough] to kind of negate any free kick situations that might cause some issues,” Hempen said.
A clash between Marshall and Macdonald kept the second-half action from ceasing, a scene that would become commonplace as Macdonald continuously challenged Marshall by stepping outside the penalty box.
Sophomore midfielder Kelly Butler was the author of one of four Colorado shots on goals within the first 10 minutes of the second half.
After her shot was blocked, Butler set herself up for an additional effort with a fierce header from the resulting corner kick. However, Macdonald made a diving save to keep the game scoreless.
With only conference games left in the schedule, this game marks the true beginning of Big 12 play, a fact Barczuk believes only adds value to the victory.
“It’s definitely huge to us, considering this is when Big 12 play really starts for us,” Barczuck said. “Every game is a big game in the Big 12, obviously. We want to achieve.”
For Fitzpatrick, this game is proof of the opportunities sports provides for success.
“You know, as long as we are in for the fight every game and we find a way — even if it’s a scramble like that in the box — I think it does not matter,” Fitzpatrick said. “As long as we fight, we’re here for each other and we are playing for each other, we can only do big things in the Big 12.”
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Esteban L. Hernandez at Esteban.Hernandez@colorado.edu.
