Buffs Back on the Road
BERKELEY, Calif. — Danny Sanchez and Co. head back on the road for a pair of ranked matches in the Bay Area this week. The stretch starts with No. 10 California on Friday and No. 23 Stanford on Sunday.
Colorado (3-1-1, 0-0-1 Pac-12) dives right back into Pac-12 play after its weekend series against Washington. The Buffs picked up a point in the conference with a 0-0 draw to start against the Huskies. UW got the 2-1 decision in Sunday's non-conference pairing.
A huge part of CU's ability to keep pace with Washington was the play in net from transfer Dani Hansen. The redshirt sophomore made 20 saves on the weekend and allowed just one goal on her way to her second consecutive Pac-12 Goalkeeper of the Week honor.
"She was fantastic," Sanchez reiterated. "Obviously, the penalty save was great. She read them it well and made the save and we were able to gut out the result in the conference match."
The Buffs are still looking for that spark on the offensive side of the field. CU has scored just five goals this season, getting three against Northern Colorado. Coach Sanchez hasn't started the same lineup this season, making changes to the first 11 in each match.
"When you look at [last] Friday we only had two starters that were the same from when we beat Washington last season," Sanchez noted. "We had nine new starters. This is going to take a little bit of time for us to find our rhythm going forward. This year is just a unique year for everybody. Nobody is feeling sorry for anybody. We have to turn around and head to the Bay Area for a pair of tough games this weekend."
California (2-0-0, 1-0-0 Pac-12) scored a pair of wins over Oregon State and Oregon to open its season. The Golden Bears were the last of the conference opponents to start the season, opting not to schedule any preseason matches. Cal was accurate in its first two matches, putting 56.0 percent of its shot on target. Emma Westin has tallied two of Cal's four goals this season, notching one in each match.
"Cal went off on the road [last week] and got two results," Sanchez added. "To get two results on the road is difficult. They are an experienced group with a great goalkeeper with an All-American center back. They are really dynamic going forward so it will be a lot of what we saw from Washington.
Stanford, the defending national champions, got upset by both Oregon and Oregon State to open in the opening weekend of Pac-12 play. The Cardinal is 1-2 overall, getting a 2-1 win over Pepperdine to start its season. Stanford has found the net in all three matches this season, totaling four goals in three games.
"Give credit to the Oregon schools for getting results against them [Stanford]," Sanchez continued. "I'm sure they are going to be fired up to be back at home. We have to be ready to go."
Kickoff on Friday is set for 4 p.m. MT. The game will not be streamed by Cal. Sunday's game is set for a 1 p.m. MT start and will be televised on the Pac-12 Network.