The Colorado women’s soccer team has struggled throughout the 2012 Pac-12 season, losing close games including 2-1 losses to both No. 2 ranked Stanford and No. 3 UCLA; on Sunday, however, the monkey officially got off their backs as they defeated the USC Trojans 1-0 in an epic double overtime match in Los Angeles.
The game was the Buffs sixth match to go into overtime in 2012, but it also ended a six-game losing streak, two of which were lost in overtime.
Freshman Emily Paxton drives the ball in an attempt to score at home Oct. 13. (CU Independent File/Andrew Kaczmarek)
“We’ve been so close in a lot of situations,” CU head coach Danny Sanchez said to the Sports Information Department. “To go on the road against a very aggressive team and to win in overtime just kind of validates all the hard work they’ve done.”
The first ten minutes of overtime led to zero shots from both teams, but five minutes into the second overtime destiny took over and the Buffs’ captain, senior Amy Barczuk, took charge and put the dreaded losing streak to bed scoring off of a throw in from junior forward Anne Stuller.
“Anne Stuller had a nice turn and sent the ball across to Amy (Barczuk),” Sanchez said. “She did a great job of shielding the defenders … It was a very good goal and a good exclamation point for how we performed today, and really the whole weekend.”
After the Oregon State game on October 13th, which ended in a disappointing 2-0 loss for the Buffs, coach Sanchez told the media that he wanted his seniors to experience winning and have something more to take away from their final season at CU.
There is no one on the CU women’s soccer team, or even the Pac-12, that deserved to score a game-winning goal more than Amy Barczuk who has been the defensive anchor for the Buffaloes and has been one of the main reasons why the Buffs have been able to be so much more competitive in the Pac-12 this season as opposed to last year.
“She’s a great player,” Sanchez said of Barczuk. “She’s a great leader, and she embraces it. I just feel really good for her. Her senior year is coming to an end. She had this great moment to lead us to the victory and to win the game for us … We still have three games left so there’s a lot to play for, but it was a good moment for her for sure.”
The Buffs still came close to losing on Sunday. With under five minutes to play in regulation, the Trojans rocketed a shot from the edge of the box and as the Buffalo defenders tried to clear the ball, it hit the crossbar and was almost another defensive mistake that would cost the Buffaloes the game.
But the luck was finally on the Buffs side.
“There was one chance for a goal that actually came off of us,” Sanchez said. “It was just one of those days that instead of going into the goal, it got back to Brunner. I think that was kind of our moment where we thought, ‘Well maybe today is our day, and we can actually get a win.'”
The Buffs conclude their four-game roadtrip in Arizona as they take on Arizona on Friday, Oct. 26 at 4 p.m. and Arizona State on Sunday, Oct. 28 at 5 p.m.
Both games will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Networks.
Contact CU Independent Copy Editor Joseph Wirth at joseph.wirth@colorado.edu
