A second half offensive explosion, headed up by senior defensemen Kym Lowry, gave the CU’s soccer team their second straight home victory with a 2-0 win over the Northern Colorado Bears.
Lowry had an assist and a goal of her own on a heat-throbbing Sunday afternoon in Boulder.
“[The goal] felt so good,” Lowry said. “We really needed to score.”
The first half crept along with few scoring attempts from either side. The Bears put three shots on goal while the Buffs milked five of their own.
Junior defender Amy Steiner had multiple breakaways, dribbling the ball all the way to the opposing goal, but could never find an opening to put one on net.
Head coach Bill Hempen said, “We weren’t very dangerous for as much as we had the ball in the first half.”
After 45 minutes of play the scoreboard was blank on from right to left. The second half began with more intensity from the Bears than had been seen from either side during the first half.
Bears’ midfielder Kimmie Fiedler aggressively tripped over the freshman CU goalkeeper Annie Brunner in pursuit of an intercepted cross, resulting in a free kick for the Buffs.
A Bears barrage of corner kicks shook up the Buff defensive line, yet the seemingly impermeable goalie Brunner did not fall short of expectations.
Sixty minutes after the opening whistle, the Buffs finally broke through.
Lowry took a cross from junior Caroline Danneberg, who flicked it in, resulting in a Buffs 1-0 advantage.
“A strong part of our [offense] is running down the field and getting crosses in, so I think we just try to take advantage of that every game and see how it goes,” Danneberg said.
Fifteen minutes later, Lowry found herself in the middle of it again. Senior Amanda Foulk took a Lowry pass and rolled it just out of Bears goalie Kirsten Salminen’s fingertips to give the Buffs a 2-0 advantage.
The final minutes of the game remained at a high pace, but the Buffs kept control, resulting in another shutout for the Buffs on their home turf.
Next up for the Buffs is the Denver Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 4, at 7 p.m against in-state rivals Denver.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writter Sonia Amodeo at Sonia.amodeo@colorado.edu.
