By Aniket Prabhu and Bronte Moore
CU Forward Sami Fisher (center-right) in the second half of the Kansas State v. CU game. (Bronte Moore/radio 1190)
Last Thursday, Colorado and Kansas State Women’s soccer teams faced off in their first interconference game at Prentup Field, resulting in a 0-0 draw. It was a match characterized by physical battles, defensive discipline, and numerous opportunities for both teams to take the lead, with neither ultimately breaking through the opposing strategy and scoring a decisive goal.
To start the first half, the Buffaloes came out hungry and quite demanding of the ball, controlling possession especially in the middle of the field. Early on, CU looked to flank the outsides and send crosses inside the goalie box. Kansas State’s outside backs quickly recovered and put in timely and decisive tackles to prevent shots, keeping the Buffs at bay.
From there, the game quickly started to get more scrappy and physical. Lead referee Richonne Clark and his crew opted to let them battle it out, leading to several controversial tackles. A dangerous sideswiping tackle by KSU defender Chloe Dillibeck earned an immediate yellow in minute 14. At one point, CU Head Coach Danny Sanchez and KSU Head Coach Colleen Corbin had to intervene in the heat of the moment.
The best chance of the first half would come 23 minutes in, when Kansas State’s Gabby Demers rocketed the ball past CU goalkeeper Jordan Nytes’ outstretched arms into the crossbar and out of play.
Just six minutes later, CU would have its own near miss as sophomore forward Jace Holley took a shot following a perfect in-swinging cross from midfielder Reagan Kotschau, only for a sharp right-hand punch from Kansas State Goalie Maddie Sibbing to loft the ball over the goal.
Coming out of the halftime break, CU increased its tempo and once again looked to be knocking on the door for an eventual breakthrough, but Kansas State stood resilient. 48 minutes in, a heavy touch by Kotschau cut just outside the goalie box, opening the path for a well-aimed shot at the upper right corner, narrowly deflected by Sibbing.
After this, Kansas State adopted a more defensive posture, looking to take advantage of CU’s mistakes to create quick breakaway chances. Colorado, on the other hand, made a variety of tactical changes through substitution to try and figure out how to break the Kansas State backline.
Another great opportunity would come in minute 72 through a squared-up cross into the back post area, which was mistimed by CU forward Emerson Layne, missing the wide-open net after the ball skimmed the back of her head.
In the last 20 minutes, both teams pressed each other hard. Kansas State launched several counterattacks that were easily dealt with by Nytes. While some gutsy tackles and clearances from the KSU backline prevented a CU storybook ending, the Buffs walked away undefeated with a home record of 5-0-2 and an electrified fanbase rallying behind them.
The Buffs will next play the 4-1-2 Iowa State Cyclones on September 25th, once again at Prentup Field, with a kickoff time of 7 p.m. MST.