2023-10-07 19:22:04
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BOULDER – The No. 25 Colorado Buffaloes will search for a series split when they take on the California Golden Bears at Prentup Field on Sunday (2 p.m. MT).
Colorado (10-3-0, 2-2-0 Pac-12) dropped its third match of the season, all at home, to No. 3 Stanford on Thursday night. Shyra James sparked the Buffs early, notching her Pac-12-leading 11th goal of the season, but Stanford battled back and scored two goals in the final five minutes of the first half and took the wind out of the Buffaloes’ sails.
“I thought we started the game very well,” head coach Danny Sanchez recalled. “Not only the goal but just our energy. I thought that as the first half wore on, we started chasing the game a little bit and we got exposed at the end of the first half. I think we have to keep that momentum from early in the game.”
The Buffs have had success this season with stealing the momentum away early. CU has scored 15 of its 26 goals inside the first 45 minutes this season while allowing just seven goals in the first half.
California (5-3-4, 2-0-2 Pac-12) hasn’t allowed opponents to get the inside track this season. The Golden Bears allowed seven goals in its first two matches vs Tennessee and North Carolina but have allowed only five goals since.
“Cal presents a lot of challenges,” Sanchez explained. “They don’t give up many chances so we’re going to have to be really efficient when we get forward. We’re really going to have to refocus and be ready for Sunday.”
The Buffs have lost their last two matches at Prentup Field, marking the first time CU has suffered consecutive losses at home since getting swept by USC and UCLA toward the end of the 2018 season.
“I thought our mindset following the match and our training since then has been very good,” Sanchez added. “Although we’re disappointed we lost to Stanford, I thought we might take a lot of positives from it. We’ll be ready to go on Sunday.”
Sunday’s match is the team’s Kickout Cancer game. Cancer patients, survivors, caregivers, community and team members are invited.
Thad Anderson will have the call on the stream at CUBuffs.com/WatchSoc.
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