Tuesday, November 29, 2011

CU Women’s Club Soccer Falls to Texas at Nationals

Phoenix, Ariz. (11/21/11)– The University of Colorado women’s club soccer team lost 2-1 to the University of Texas in the round of 16 of the NCCS National Championship.

The Buffaloes got off to a hot start in the tournament, beating Virginia and Cornell in convincing fashion to win their pool. The Buffs’ beat Virginia 2-0 thanks to goals from Becky Santiago and Taylor Frankel. Colorado bested Cornell 1-0, the only goal of the game was scored by Paige Polesovsky.

After winning their pool the Buffaloes advanced to the round of 16 to face the Texas Longhorns. The Longhorns struck first, scoring a goal in the 25th minute. CU responded, scoring in the 32nd minute of the first half with a goal from Taylor Frankel assisted by Alexis Keeney. The second half was a defensive battle, and regulation ended with the score 1-1.

In overtime, the Longhorns were able to find the back of the net with 5 minutes remaining. The final whistle sounded with the score 2-1 in favor of Texas.

The game was as close on paper as it was on the field. Texas had 9 shots, 8 of which were on goal. Colorado shot 8 times, 6 of which were on goal.

“It was a very even game that went back and forth, with a lot of speed and psychical play by both teams,” said CU head coach Dorian Barnes. “It was a well-played game, I couldn’t be more proud of this team. They performed at a very high level, you just sometimes don’t get the lucky breaks when you need them.”

While everyone on the team is disappointed with their early departure, the team is still proud of what they accomplished this year.

“My overall feelings on this year’s teams are all positive,” said Barnes. “We really built up a nice season not being scored upon since our game verses Cal Poly on Oct. 9 and then not again until our final game verses Texas. This loss will motivate us to put in the work during the offseason and during next season in order to improve upon our finish this year.”

The University of California Santa Barbara defeated Cal Poly 1-0 to win the NCCS National Championship.

For more information on Colorado women’s club soccer visit their website at www.cusoccer.net

Colorado Men’s Soccer Falls to Cal at Nationals

Phoenix, Ariz. (11/21/11)– The University of Colorado men’s club soccer team lost 2-0 to the University of California at Berkley in the round of 16. The loss to Cal was the Buffaloes first loss all season.

The tournament started off well for the Buffs’ who won their pool by drawing verses Texas 1-1 and then defeating Cal Poly 1-0. Senior Dan Whittle scored the game-winning goal against Cal-Poly.

The defending national champion Colorado Buffaloes advanced to the round of 16 to take on the California Golden Bears. The Bears drew first blood scoring on a set piece in the first half. Playing from behind, CU managed to create three quality chances in the second half but weren’t able to convert on any of them, including a penalty kick that would have changed the game dramatically. When the final whistle blew the score was 2-0 in favor of Cal.

“The loss against Cal Berkley is still tough to think about,” said head coach David Vaughan. “We were flat the entire game—plain and simple.”

The Buffs’ were put in an unusual spot after Cal scored in the first half. Colorado hadn’t lost a game the entire season going into the round of 16 and wasn’t used to playing from behind.

“It was one of the few times we’ve ever played from behind all year,” said Vaughan. “I thought we panicked in terms of maintaining possession and dictating the pace of the game. The energy we brought the night before when we won our group simply didn’t exist against Cal.”

Despite the early departure from nationals, the Colorado men’s club soccer team has a lot to be proud of. They had an undefeated regular season and won their region despite losing 15 players from their national championship winning team.

“When you consider the dramatic turnover we experienced I think our guys played extremely well this year,” said Vaughan on the team’s season. “We’re very young and still accomplished some great things this year including repeating as league champions and adding another Region V title to our résumé. This year’s seniors have done a great job laying the foundation for our younger freshmen and sophomores to take over in 2012. The future is definitely bright for CU men’s soccer.”

Webber State defeated Missouri in penalty kicks to win the 2011 NCCS National Championship.

For more information about CU men’s soccer visit their website at www.cumenssoccer.com

Friday, November 11, 2011

Colorado Women’s Club Soccer Prepares for Nationals

Phoenix, Ariz.(11/11/11) – The University of Colorado women’s club soccer team will head to Arizona Nov. 17-19 in hopes of the winning the 2011 NIRSA NCCS National Soccer Championship.

The Buffs’ have had a great fall season, going 12-5-2 and finishing first in Region V. Colorado will look to continue their winning ways in nationals.

Colorado is the WCB pool along with Cornell and Virginia. The top two teams in the pool will advance to the round of 16.

In last year’s tournament the Buffs’ lost a heartbreaker in the quarterfinals to Texas A&M. Colorado scored a goal late in the game with the game tied 0-0 but the referees called it back. The game eventually went into a penalty kicks and Texas A&M came away with the victory.

“That game will definitely be in the minds of the players that were on this team last year,” said head coach Dorian Barnes.

The Buffaloes’ are excited at the opportunity but are wary of the high level of competition that they will be facing.

“The competition is the best you can get,” said Barnes. “They will need to play with heart and passion, play with composure, play with confidence and they will need to play for each other,” said Barnes on what her team needs to do to win the tournament. “I believe we have them to a point physically, mentally, technically, and tactically as they possibly can be.  Now we just have to execute.”

The Buffs’ players are anxious to get to Phoenix and prove themselves.

“They want their tests to be over, they want practices to be over, they just want to get started with game number one vs. Virginia right now and find out what they are really made of,” said Barnes. “That to me shows a confidence that they are ready to go and just want to get to it.  I feel we have a very talented team, but as you know you can't win on talent alone, so how we deal with everything else will decide it for us.  I feel good about our chances.”

Colorado’s first game will be against Virginia on Thursday Nov. 17 at 8 a.m. For more information about the tournament and women’s club soccer follow the links below.

CU women’s club soccer website: www.cusoccer.net
NCCS Soccer Championships website: www.nirsa.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Sports/Soccer/Soccer2011-Schedule.pdf

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Colorado Men’s Varsity Soccer Bests CSU 3-2, Nationals Next

COMMERCE CITY, Colo. (11/7/11) – The University of Colorado men’s varsity soccer team will bring the Rocky Mountain Cup back to Boulder after defeating the Colorado State Rams 3-2 Sunday night at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.

The Buffaloes’ win improves their record to an impressive 13-0-1 on the season.

The first half started off slow, with both teams playing tentatively. That all changed when Colorado junior Matt Hammett found the back of the net with 19 minutes remaining. The play was set up by a great cross by senior Dan Whittle, who put the ball on Hammett’s foot five yards from the goal. Minutes later, the Buffs’ seemed to have scored another goal, but the referee ruled that the player was offside. After the offside call Colorado State played more aggresive. With nine minutes left CSU had a breakaway that looked like a sure goal. Colorado’s senior goalie Dirk Van Curan was able to come out of the net and make a great diving save to preserve the Buffaloes 1-0 lead.

“The ball was slotted through so I knew I had to come out and make a play,” said Van Curan on his save. “The kid came in with his cleats up, it should have been a yellow, but I was just happy to get a piece of it.”

The Rams’ continued to attack the rest of the first half but were unable to score a goal. The whistle sounded and the Buffs’ went into halftime with a 1-0 lead.

Colorado struck early in the second half behind a great offensive effort from Whittle. The senior forward was able to weave his way through the defense and then rip a low shot into the corner past the Colorado State keeper.

“I’m an offensive minded player so when I get the ball I look to attack,” said Whittle. I saw space open up in the middle so I just took off, found and opening, and was able to finish.”

Down 2-0, the Rams’ stepped up their pressure and we’re finally able to score with 22 minutes remaining in the game. After the goal CSU had all the momentum, but the Buffs’ were able to stay composed and continued to play their game. With five minutes left in the game sophomore Landon Roos scored off an assist from Luke Woodruff. The goal would prove to be the game winner. In extra time CSU an inconsequential goal on a free kick. The final whistle blew with the score 3-2 in favor of Colorado.

The Buffaloes will head to Phoenix, Ariz. on Nov. 16 for nationals. Colorado won nationals last year, defeating Missouri 3-1 in the championship game.

“We won last year so there’s going to be some pressure,” said Whittle on nationals. “The competitions going to be high so we are going to have to be on our game. This team is loaded with talent though, and we’ll be ready for nationals.”

For more information on CU men’s soccer visit their website at www.cumenssoccer.com

Colorado Women’s Hockey Bests CSU 3-1 at the Pepsi Center

DENVER (11/8/11) – The University of Colorado women’s ice hockey team defeated the Colorado State Ram’s 3-1 at the Pepsi Center Saturday evening.

The win improves the Buffaloes record to 2-6-1 on the season.

The Ram’s drew first blood, scoring with 12:21 left in the first period. The Buffs’ offense fired shot after shot trying to get an equalizer, but Colorado State’s sophomore goalie Amanda Vandenberg was brick wall, stopping Colorado’s first 11 shots. The first period concluded with the Buffs’ down 1-0.

Despite being behind, the Buffs’ were able to keep their composure in the second period. Just three minutes in, freshmen Emera Danos scored a goal off a beautiful assist from senior Lizzy Stoll. Play went back and forth the rest of the period, with both teams narrowly missing goals. With three minutes left in the second period,  Stoll was able to find the back of the net thanks to an assist by CU sophomore Sara Lopez and  senior Elizabeth Helmer. The buzzer sounded with Colorado leading 2-1.

The third period was dominated by the Buffaloes’ defense. CU’s asphyxiating defense allowed just three shots on goal in the final period. With 7:22 remaining in third, Colorado senior Amanda Wilson scored a highlight-reel backhanded flip goal to put the Buffs’ up 3-1. Wilson’s goal turned out to be a dagger for Colorado State, who wouldn’t score the rest of the game.  

“She played awesome today,” said head coach Kristen Van Slyke on Stoll’s performance. “She’s a senior captain so I expect her to play great every game but today she really came to play.”

Stoll had an amazing game, but Colorado’s defense won them the game.

“I think our defense did a great job of causing turnovers in the neutral zone,” said Van Slyke. “I think they’ve learned a lot from our past couple weekends and have been able to come out and do great things on the ice.”

Stoll continued on the theme of defense, “Most of our defenders are actually freshmen, they’ve been working really hard to step up and being stronger and I think they showed that tonight.”

While defense may have won the Buffs’ the game, there’s no arguing that the most exciting play of the game was Wilson’s backhand flip goal.

“I was screaming at my defender who actually received the puck to just shoot it,” said Wilson on her goal. “I saw the rebound of her shot come toward me and I knew I had to get the shot up so I just dug in and threw it top shelf with my backhand.”

Perhaps most impressive from CU’s 3-1 victory was the team’s composure. The team never seemed flustered, despite being down most of the first period.

“We’re really mentally strong,” said Danos. “We have the ability to not get down on ourselves and not shut down when things get hard and we showed that by coming back each period.”

Colorado will head to Bensenville, Ill. Nov. 11 to take on the Michigan State Spartans.

The women’s team is one of 21 schools (and one of two in the western United States) that plays at the Women’s ACHA Division I level. CU’s women’s team also plays games in the WACH (Women’s Association of Colorado Hockey). For more information on CU women’s club hockey visit their website at http://www.coloradowomenshockey.com

Saturday, November 5, 2011

Buffs Unable to Complete Comeback Against CSU

DENVER (11/5/11) – The University of Colorado Buffaloes Division II men’s ice hockey team fell 5-4 to the Colorado State Rams Saturday night at the Pepsi Center in the third annual Rocky Mountain Center Ice Showdown.

Jordan Lockner, J.P Park and Brennan Stieneker all scored for CU while Alex Leniconi, Billy Haege, Zach Lass and Lockner all picked up assists.

The Rams were able to take control of the first period by capitalizing on two power play opportunities, ending the first twenty minutes with a two-point lead over the Buffs.

The Rams continued their offensive domination over Colorado in the second period when they scored two additional goals, increasing their lead over the Buffs to 4-2. Colorado’s offense was able to find some life late into the second stanza when Lockner capitalized on a power play and scored the first goal of the evening. With 4:27 remaining in the period, while playing short-handed, Park was able to find the back of the cage for the Buffs.

Colorado State regained momentum with a quick goal in the third stanza to extend their lead, but the Buffaloes were not done yet. Colorado’s offense continued to put pressure on the Rams and were able to tighten CSU’s lead to 5-4 with goals by Stieneker and Park. Park picked up his second goal of the contest. 

The Buffaloes were unable to complete the comeback and fell to the Rams for the second consecutive year, dropping their record to 5-4-0-1 on the season.

“We just needed to stay out of the box, we took too many penalties that they were able to capitalize on,” said center Billy Haege. “We need to take more shots and hustle in front of the net if we want to win games like this.”

“If we had another 10 minutes in that period, that game would have been ours,” said assistant coach Jon Pfeiff. “We told them in the locker room that we need to play the full 60 minutes.”

Next up the Buffs will head to Arizona to face three regional rivals. First, they will compete against the University of Arizona Wildcats at the Tucson Convention Center at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 11. Next, they will play the University of Northern Arizona Lumberjacks on Nov. 12 at 6:00 p.m. at Oceanside Ice Arena in Tempe. Colorado will then end the weekend against Arizona State University on Nov. 13 at Oceanside Ice Arena at 1 p.m.

Watch interview with Bill Haege here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6m927arGjCo
Watch interview with Jon Pfeiff here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qq_ekYY2vr0
View the live stream of tonight game here: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/18338719
Scoring Summary
First Period
            6:43 CSU Austen Burgh, assisted by Paul Jenkins and Kollin Vandersluis -PP
            4:06 CSU Parker Harrison, assisted by Kollin Vondersluis and Austen Burgh -PP
Second Period
           
11:54 CSU Adrian Olson, assisted by Jackson Dorsey and Paul Jenkins     
            8:54 CSU Brandon Hicks, assisted by Jackson Dosey
6:22 CU Jordan Lockner, assisted by Zach Lass and Alex Lencioni -PP
4:27 CU J.P Park, assisted by Billy Haege –SH
Third Period
           
18:41 CSU Brendon McCarthy, assisted by Brandon Hicks
16:06 CU Brennen Stieneker, assisted by Alex Leniconi and Zach Lass
14:42 CU J.P Park, assisted by Billy Haege and Jordan Lockner
Penalties:
First Period
            15:02 CSU Paul Jenkins- Tripping
6:57 CU Jordan Lockner- Tripping
4:15 CU Jeff Palmer- Tripping
            3:51 CSU Zac Novak Crossing Checking
Second Period
            18:45 CSU Paul Jenkins- Hooking
14:31 CU J.P Park- Elbowing
10:55 CU Jeff Palmer
            7:31 CSU Paul Jenkins
5:38 CU Nick Carey- High Sticking
            2:39 CSU Adrian Olson- Holding
:51 CU Billy Haege- Holding
Third Period
12:00 CU Jordan Lockner- Unsportsmanlike Conduct
           
12:00 CSU Brendon McCarthy- Slashing
            8:00 CSU Bryan Brunton- Cross Checking
            3:53 CSU Bryan Brunton- Interference
:47 CU Jordan Lockner- Boarding
Shots on Goal:
                                    1st                    2nd                  3rd                   OT                   Total
Colorado State                        11                    9                      8                      --                      28
Colorado                     15                    12                    16                    --                      43
Power Plays:
Colorado State: 2-of-7
Colorado: 1-of-7

Buffs Fall to Rams at Rocky Mountain Center Ice Showdown

DENVER (11/5/2011) The Colorado Buffaloes Division III men’s ice hockey team lost 7-0 against in-state rival Colorado State on Saturday afternoon at the third annual Rocky Mountain Center Ice Showdown at Pepsi Center.

Colorado’s record falls to 6-2 in loss, while CSU improved to 10-7 on the season.

The Rams took the lead quickly with the first goal, scored 53 seconds into the first period. The stanza slowed down, as the Buffs struggled to gain momentum. In the last 3:09, the Rams were able to increase their lead with a goal from Philip Brown to end the period.

The Rams continued to dominate on offense in the second stanza scoring two additional goals, bringing the score to 4-0 at the end of the second period.

The third period began with a fast goal by the Rams, only 2:69 into the stanza. The Buffs tried to gain control of the ice, but were unable to get past Colorado State goaltender Hayden Kelley. With 5:28 left in the stanza, the Rams slid the puck past the Buffs goalie Gordon Burns, scoring their sixth goal of the game. The Rams finished the contest with a goal in the last 1:02 of the game resulting in a victory over the Buffs.

“The team tried to complete to many cross ice passes,” said assistant coach Kevin Insana. “The team was not playing as a team, but individually and did not keep the game simple.”

The Rams were able to capitalize on 1-of-5 power plays with a goal by Philip Brown. Brown finished the game with a hat trick.

The Buffs took a total of 30 shots on goal while the Rams took 32.

The Buffaloes will look to redeem themselves next week as they travel to compete in the Alabama Showcase at Benton Wilcoxon Arena. Colorado will face Hope College Thursday, Nov. 10. They will go on to play the University of Alabama Nov. 11, Florida Gulf Coast University Nov. 12 and end the showcase on Sunday, Nov. 13 against the University of Central Florida.

The Buffs next home game will be Nov. 18 at 7:00 p.m. against UC Denver at the CU Ice Arena. Admission to all division III home games are open to the general public and free for students with a Buff One Card.

Scoring Summary
First Period
19:07 CSU Tom Malone, assisted by Jake Lammert
3:09 CSU Philip Brown, assisted by Dan Hassler and Scott Hassler – PP
Second Period
            12:25 CSU Dan Hassler, assisted by Mike Jimenez
            10:34 CSU Scott Hassler, assisted by Andrew Hasse and Andy Hoehler
Third Period
            17:31 CSU Philip Brown, assisted by Tom Malone
            5:28 CSU Brian Pekara, assisted by Scott Hassler
            1:02 CSU Dan Hassler, assisted by Philip Brown and Brian Pekara

Shots on Goal
CU - 30
CSU - 32

Power Plays
CU: 0-of-6
CSU: 1-of-5

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

CU Women’s Rugby Fall Season Concludes Nov.6 verses New Mexico

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (11/1/11) –The University of Colorado women’s rugby team will take on the University of New Mexico this weekend in what will be the final game of their fall season.

The Buffaloes have had a great season so far, boasting a 7-3 record with wins verses elite women’s rugby programs such as Air Force and Colorado State.

“Our team is playing amazingly well this year, we graduated a lot of key players from our starting line and are really coming back strong from that,” said team president Meghan Montgomery.  “We brought on a new assistant coach this year, Hannah Stolba, who played for the Eagles national team and currently plays for Glendale, the women's team in Denver.  She has brought amazing expertise and knowledge of the game and is really meshing well with the players and the existing coaching staff.”

The Buffs’ are going to need to bring their A game if they want to beat a very talented New Mexico team.

“In order to beat UNM this weekend, we really just need to pull together and play together as a unit,” said Montgomery.  “Each individual player is incredibly skilled and has progressed in terms of understanding of the game, we just really need to not let the pressure get to us and forget our game plan.  Rugby is all about the team playing as a 15 person unit, we have key players but without the support of the rest of the team at every breakdown their individual skills won't necessarily get us where we need to be.”

For more information on CU women’s rugby visit their website at http://www.colorado.edu/studentgroups/womensrugby/?DB_OEM_ID=600

Schusler Wins Fourth Straight Downhill Title As CU Cycling Finishes Second at Mountain Bike Nationals


ANGEL FIRE, N.M. (11/1/11)– University of Colorado cyclist Joey Schusler continued his dominance in the downhill by picking up his fourth straight national title and helped the Buffaloes to a second place finish at the USA Cycling Collegiate Mountain Bike National Championships on Sunday.

The Buffs picked up 636 points over the three days of competition and finished just eight points behind first place Fort Lewis College. It was the Skyhawks fifth straight mountain bike national championship and the third straight year that Fort Lewis and Colorado finished one-two at nationals.

Lindsey Wilson College finished third with 449 points while Lees-McRae College was fourth with 442 points and Cal Poly fifth with 439 points.

Schusler finished the championships with two first place finishes, in the downhill on Saturday and in the dual slalom on Sunday.

"There was a lot of pressure,” Schusler said on Saturday following his downhill race. “With the ice at the top of the track, it was pretty intense. It was a fight all the way to the finish. I ended up crashing once in my run and then just pushing all the way to the end."

In the women’s omnium competition, CU’s Deidre York finished second with 400 points while teammate Claire Bensard finished third with 380 points. Boulder native Jill Behlen of the University of Wyoming finished as the individual women’s champion.

The competition began on Friday with the cross country races. York and Bensard were the highest placed CU riders in the long trek in fourth and fifth place.

On Saturday, the short-track cross country and the downhill took center stage. Samuel Morrison finished fourth in the men’s short-track race while Bensard also picked up a fourth place finish in the women’s event.

CU picked up two of the top three spots in the men’s downhill with Schusler in first and Michael Larsen in third. David O’Day of Colorado State finished second in the race.

The championships finished on Sunday with the dual slalom. York finished fourth in the women’s race, adding to the already great day CU had after Schusler won the men’s event.

The Buffs will now head into the winter offseason where they will prepare for the spring road season. Colorado finished fifth at the road nationals last May in Madison, Wis.

USA Cycling Recaps