The Colorado women’s soccer team expected a far different match against the University of Denver than the one the teams put together two months ago.
That is exactly what happened. Yet the end result remained the same.
Powered by a pair of goals in quick succession early in the second half, the Buffaloes advanced in the NCAA Tournament with a 2-1 victory against their rivals from DU in a first-round showdown Sunday at Prentup Field. It was CU’s fourth consecutive first-round win in the national tournament, a run that began with in the opening round against DU in 2013.
CU will travel to North Carolina to face the Tar Heels, one of the tournament’s four No. 1 seeds, on Friday at 3 p.m. MST.
“We knew, at least the coaching staff knew and I think the players figured out at halftime, that this was going to be a fight,” CU coach Danny Sanchez said. “We didn’t play great in the first half. But the second half I thought we were fantastic. We scored two great goals and defended well.
“At this point, as the cliché goes, it’s survive and advance. I’m really proud of this group because this was a very dangerous game for us, playing a local rival in the NCAA Tournament. Sometimes you play with nothing to lose. We had everything to lose today. We gutted it out and I feel it was a well-deserved result.”
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