Second Half Goal Gives CU 1-0 Victory over KU

BOULDER, Colo. – A second half goal by Lindsay Ralph led the University of Colorado to a 1-0 victory over the University of Kansas in front of a season-high crowd of 1,305 at Prentup Field in Boulder, Colo.

The Buffaloes scored the lone goal of the match with 39 minutes remaining. KU’s freshman goalkeeper Julie Hanley made the initial save on a shot by Fran Munnelly. The rebound deflected to Lindsey Ralph who notched her first goal of the season from six yards out.

Hanley recorded a career-high eight saves but was tabbed with her first loss of the season as a starter goalkeeper (4-1-0).

Colorado’s starting goalkeeper, Jessica Keller, was injured early in the first half when she collided with Caroline Smith while both players were diving for a loose ball. Freshman Kirstin Radlinski replaced Keller and recorded five saves to earn the victory.

Kansas out-shot Colorado, 16-15, on the match. The Buffs tallied nine shots on goal to the Jayhawks five. Caroline Smith led KU with five shots.

“I’m a little bit disappointed,” commented Mark Francis. “We actually out-shot them and had very good opportunities early in the game. The latter part of the second half I think fatigue played a factor and we ran out of gas a little bit in the altitude.”

With the loss, KU drops to 8-6-2 overall and 4-3-1 in the Big 12. Colorado improves to 9-5-2 and 5-2-0 in the conference.

KU’s next match will be a non-conference contest against Colorado College on Friday, Oct. 21, at 3 p.m. at the Jayhawk Soccer Complex. The Jayhawks will quickly return to conference action with a 1 p.m. match against Texas on Sunday, Oct. 23 in Lawrence.