No. 30 Colorado Downs Kansas
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Colorado freshman Nikki Marshall scored two goals and collected an assist Friday as the 30th-ranked Buffaloes knocked off the University of Kansas, 4-0, in a Big 12 soccer match at the Jayhawk Soccer Complex.
The loss snaps KU’s four-match winning streak and drops the Jayhawks to 11-7 overall and 6-4 in the conference. CU improves to 11-5-2 overall and 5-4-1 in the Big 12.
Friday’s result sets up a rematch between the teams in the first round of the conference tournament next Wednesday. KU, the fourth seed, will play the Buffaloes at 1:30 p.m. at Blossom Soccer Stadium in San Antonio, Texas.
“It was a bad combination today,” KU head coach Mark Francis said. “They played extremely well, and we didn’t. They outplayed us in nearly every facet of the game.”
KU, which entered the match with four-straight shutout victories, gave up its first goal in over 476 minutes of game time in the first half. In the 15th minute, Marshall tallied her conference-leading 12th goal of the season on a shot that seemed to fool KU keeper Julie Hanley. Marshall slid a shot past Hanley to the near corner to give CU a 1-0 advantage.
The Buffaloes took a 2-0 lead in the 33rd minute when Allie True finished a play set up by Katie Griffin and Alex Cousins. CU added two more goals in the second half for the 4-0 victory, KU’s worst loss since 2001.
Fate was definitely not on the Jayhawks’ side Friday. After going into halftime down 2-0, KU looked to cut into the lead when senior Michelle Rasmussen bent a near-perfect shot at the net in the 54th minute. However, the ball hit just below the crossbar, bounced to the ground and into the waiting arms of CU goalkeeper Kirstin Radlinski.
CU responded four minutes later with its third goal of the afternoon to put the match away.
Radlinski earned her third-straight shutout win, making three saves. CU held a slight edge in shots (13-11) and corner kicks (5-3). Rasmussen led the Jayhawks with three shots on Senior Day.
Prior to the match, KU honored its senior class with a brief ceremony to recognize the efforts of Nikki Alvarez, Holly Gault, Jessica Kilpatrick, Lacey Novak and Rasmussen.
