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Matches Thread- SOCCER's last home matches this season hosting Arizona (Thursday, 10/26/23, 7:00 PM MT) & #19/18 ASU (SENIOR DAY! Sunday, 1:30 PM MT)

Media after today's win:

Article -




Direct link - https://cubuffs.com/news/2023/10/29/soccer-colorado-scores-key-win-over-no-18-arizona-state.aspx

"
Game Recap: Soccer | October 29, 2023 | Seth Pringle, Athletic Communications

Colorado Scores Key Win Over No. 18 Arizona State​

Buffs keeping postseason hopes alive


BOULDER – Four second-half goals ignite Colorado's 4-0 upset of No. 18 Arizona State on Senior Day at Prentup Field on Sunday.

The Buffaloes and Sun Devils played 68 minutes of scoreless soccer in frigid conditions. An own goal opened the floodgates in the 69th minute and propelled the Buffs to their second ranked win of the season.

"I want to give a huge shout-out to all of our grounds and facilities people, especially Joes and Alex, for getting here at the crack of dawn and making the field perfect to play," head coach Danny Sanchez acknowledged. "Their extra work and extra commitment were a big part of our success today.

"I thought the first half we played well but we just didn't create enough so we challenged the team at halftime to get more shots on goal. Arizona State is down a couple of players so we knew as the game went on, especially at altitude, we were going to get more of the ball. That was the best 30 minutes we played all year."

Colorado (12-4-3, 4-3-3 Pac-12) got goals from Hope Leyba, Ally Clark and Claire Curran following the own goal. The Buffs registered 9 of their 13 shots in the second half while keeping ASU to four shots per period.

Sunday might have been Senior Day but it was the freshmen that provided much of the spark. Ava Priest created the own goal and the rookies accounted for five of the team's 10 points.

"It's been coming [for the freshmen]," Sanchez continued. "Anybody that has been watching [could see it]. It was great to get Claire a good goal. I thought Angelina [Moschetti] was great off the bench with an assist and played with some good composure. Faith [Lebya] was rock solid and unbeatable as usual."

Goalkeeper Jordan Nytes recorded three saves in her eighth shutout of the season. Sunday also marked her 12th win of the season, tying her with former JJ Tompkins for the seventh most in a single season.
...

Upcoming
Colorado will head to Utah to close the regular season on Friday, Nov. 3.

Notes
Colorado picked up its 12th win, marking the most since the 2019 season…CU's four second-half goals tied for the 5th most for goals in a half…Moschetti's assist was her first career point…Lila Dere had the assist on Curran's goal for her fourth point of the season…It's the third time CU has had back-to-back shutouts this season…CU now has 16 players with a point this season

Quotes
Head coach Danny Sanchez
On the team's postseason hopes –
"We control what we can control. We can't control how the RPI numbers go. We know the quality of this team and anyone that watches around the country knows the quality of this team. We can control what we can control. The last game at Utah is always a challenge. We have to have the right mindset and the right focus to go there and get a result."

On getting a big result in the Pac-12 – "We told the team after Washington that we had to get three wins. You don't want to look ahead but it is what it is. These are smart young women who can handle them. I thought they had risen to the occasion this weekend. Going on the road is a whole different story. We have to get one more and control what we can control."

Freshman Hope Leyba
On approaching the game like a "must win" – "We needed this game to get to the tournament. We knew we had to work hard for each other to get that far. I really wanted to do it for our seniors on Senior Day. They put so much for this team. I just wanted to make it special."

On the team's offense – "We knew we had to take shots. When we keep the ball, we do good."

On the homestand – "We just need to keep doing what we're doing and that's working hard for each other, sticking to the game plan, taking shots and just being there for each other."
"
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Box score - https://cubuffs.com/boxscore.aspx?path=wsoc&id=16482

 
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This was the best match the Buffs have played this season. It's not just that they won 4-0 against a quality Arizona State side, it's that like in the Arizona match they were able to control play for large portions of time while at the same time limiting the opponents chances. Once again the three person back line was proactive in breaking up attacks and occasionally pushing forward with the ball. And with the diligence of the back line the Buffs midfield did a solid job of controlling the middle third of the pitch.

Despite generating many quality chances - more than ASU - they weren't able to find the back of the net until Ava Priest forced ASU into an own goal in the 69th minute. From that point on their confidence grew and the flood gates opened.
 
The RPI that came out this morning has CU at #55, so the moved up, but I am not sure it's enough to get an at-large bid to the NCAA tourney.

Their final match at Utah won't help much as the Utes are #80 currently.
 
The RPI that came out this morning has CU at #55, so the moved up, but I am not sure it's enough to get an at-large bid to the NCAA tourney.

Their final match at Utah won't help much as the Utes are #80 currently.
Is soccer one of the sports that relies very heavily on RPI? As opposed to, for example, basketball where a major conference team that spent much of the year ranked in the polls and finished with an equivalent record to this soccer team would be a lock?
 
The RPI that came out this morning has CU at #55, so the moved up, but I am not sure it's enough to get an at-large bid to the NCAA tourney.

Their final match at Utah won't help much as the Utes are #80 currently.

I've mentioned in recent match threads that I've read in the Volleytalk forum that something called a KPI rating (available for various sports through query at https://faktorsports.com/) has been added as a tool the Selection Committee can utilize in selecting teams for volleyball's NCAA tourney, but that I didn't know if soccer was also going to use it. I just did a Google search, and at least per a post (#76) in a soccer-centric forum that came up ( https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/it’s-time-to-change-the-rpi.2126114/page-4), it sounds like the soccer committee may also use it as a "secondary criteria" this season.

This could be good news for the Buffs, as they moved WAY up in KPI this week. As I wrote in the OP of this thread, CU was #71 before facing the Arizona schools this past week, but now are #43. (Utah is #76.)

(I don't have ANY detailed knowledge of what KPI is exactly and I'm too lazy to dig into it, so please take this with the proverbial "pinch of salt", but believe a couple differences with RPI is that:
  • Scores are considered in KPI vs. RPI just looking at wins, losses and ties and
  • I believe it also looks at where a result occured (home vs. road), while RPI doesn't factor that in.)
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Also, I have no idea how accurate he's been in the past, but I do remember in past seasons whenever I've gone hunting for soccer bracketologies, the main name that always came up was Chris Henderson. I just did a search for him, and it looks like he is still doing bracketologies, and per the below tweet he currently has the Buffs as 4th among teams "Last out". (I'd say that being that close and the year to year changes in criteria and evaluations that have gone on with most NCAA selection committees where there's always a few "surprises", this should definitely give the Buffs GREAT motivation to bring their best in Salt Lake City this Friday.)

 
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^^ This is good news, if indeed the KPI helps inform the committee's evaluation of the Buffs. Also, from Chris Henderson's list CU has beat both Michigan State and Arizona State this season.

Certainly, anything other than a win at Utah on Friday would kill their chances.
 
These three were going the entire match. Really made the atmosphere come alive! One of my favorite chants was, "We wont 5 goals but one will do." They came close to getting the five goals! Also, at half time the initiated a kickaround with kids and adults. Hope they show up next season!

 
Congrats to Ms. Nytes!




Direct link to article - https://cubuffs.com/news/2023/10/30/soccer-nytes-earns-second-conference-honor.aspx

"
SAN FRANCISCO—Colorado sophomore goalkeeper Jordan Nytes recorded two shutout wins last week and earned her second Pac-12 Goalkeeper of the Week honor as announced by the conference office on Monday.

Nytes, an Aurora, Colo., native, helped the Buffs improve to 12-4-3, capping the weekend off with a 4-0 win over No. 18 Arizona State. She made five three saves against the Sun Devils and opened the week with five saves against Arizona. Nytes' 12 wins are ranked second in the Pac-12 this season and are tied for the seventh most in a season by a CU goalkeeper.

Nytes ranks 15th in the NCAA, playing all but five minutes in net this season for the Buffs. Her eight shutouts this season rank second in the Pac-12 and are the most since JJ Tompkins had eight in 2019. Nytes is currently third in the conference with her .819 save%. Nytes, who was the top-ranked goalkeeper in the Top Drawer Soccer Midseason 100 (No. 11 overall), has compiled back-to-back 10-win seasons, posting 10 last season at Oklahoma State.

It is the fourth career conference honor for Nytes. The co-Big 12 Goalkeeper of the Year in 2022, won two Big 12 Goalkeeper of the Week awards last season at OSU. She was also the Pac-12's Goalkeeper of the Week for Aug. 28.

This is the third Pac-12 weekly honor of the Buffs this season. Ava Priest picked up Defensive Player of the Week for Sept. 12.

The Buffs close the regular season this Friday with a visit to Utah.
"

(Must say I'm a little surprised Shyra James, as the leading scorer in the Pac 12 (her 13 goals is 3 ahead of anyone else), hasn't picked up a weekly honor yet.)
 
Well deserved! She has been steady all season and is proactive when defending and can score off corner kicks.


I like the way her and her sister play and she has been good on the backline all year. This could be a real good recruiting class with the sisters and Eva.
 
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