No. 7 Cardinal Top Buffs
STANFORD, Calif. – Colorado was unable to overcome a late first-half goal, and No. 7 Stanford added a second in the Cardinal's 2-0 decision over the Buffaloes at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium on Sunday.
Colorado drops to 8-7-4 overall and 2-6-2 in the Pac-12 Conference. Stanford keeps its Pac-12 title hopes alive, climbing to 16-2-1 and 9-1-0 in league play.
The Buffs were able to keep up with Stanford throughout the contest, bouncing back from a disappointing showing against No. 25 California on Thursday. The only mishap in the first half proved to be a devastating blow as Stanford found the net just 37 seconds before the half.
"I told the team after the game that we're never happy to lose, but we're really proud of the effort today," head coach Danny Sanchez explained. "Anybody who watched the game today could see the work the team put in. We played really well in the first half. We limited them to three shots on goal. Unfortunately, just a little breakdown right before halftime. It was disappointing but it didn't break our spirit. I thought the second half we came out and played well. We limited their chances in the final third, we just didn't quite have enough in the final third to get back into it."
Sunday marked Civana Kuhlmann's return to the Farm. The senior transfer spent her first three years playing for the Cardinal, before making the move to Boulder.
"It's a strange experience," Kuhlmann commented. "It was super awesome and honestly really fun to be back. Even being here since Wednesday, I feel like I've just enjoyed it. For everything to come full circle. This is an opportunity I'd never thought I'd get. This whole season is an opportunity I didn't think I'd get. To get to play on this field one more time was super symbolic. It means a lot just to be able to go out there and compete and leave it all out there."
Sophomore Bella Grust made eight saves throughout the afternoon, while Kuhlmann and Shyra James both totaled two shots.
How it Happened
The Cardinal recorded the first scoring chance in the 6th minute, forcing Grust to make her first save of the day. The next shot on net didn't come until the 23rd minute with Grust there to make her second save of the half.
James got CU's first attempts on net in the 32nd minute and Mallory Allen added a second chance in the 35th minute, but Stanford's Ryan Campbell was in position for both saves.
The Cardinal took advantage of a Buffs' defensive lapse in the 45th minute when Abby Greubel cut across the box in space and slotted her shot to the short-side past Grust for the 1-0 lead.
Stanford outshot CU 7-3 in the first half, but the danger was limited to just the three shots on net.
CU got the first two shots of the second half with Jade Babcock-Chi opening the half with a ball on net in the 49th minute, but Stanford was content to sit on the lead and keep the Buffs offense at a distance.
"I thought we did well in stretches," Sanchez added. "When you defend for such long stretches like we knew we would have to, we have to do better going forward with it. I thought the first half we had some good stretches and I thought after the second goal we had some good stretches as well but not enough over 90 minutes."
Catherine Paulson picked up the insurance goal for the Cardinal in the 75th minute.
"We competed very well compared to some of our previous matches," Sanchez continued. "I thought we defended really well and Bella played well in goal. The team gave us 90 minutes and at the end of the day, we told them that whatever result gave us 90 minutes we'll be happy. They gave us 90 minutes of hard work today."
Up Next
The Buffs will close out the season with Senior Day at Prentup Field on Friday. The team will honor its departing seniors in a pregame ceremony before kickoff against Utah (3 p.m. MT).
Notes: Colorado falls to 0-8-0 all-time at Stanford and 0-13-1 altogether…the Buffs are now 0-3-3 against ranked opponents this season…team was shutout for the second consecutive match for the second time this season.