Match Thread- SOCCER opens conference play hosting Kansas State (Thursday, 9/18/25, 7:00 PM MT)

[AztecBuff]

SOCCER (6-1-1) opens conference play with a 1 match week, facing off against the Kansas State Wildcats (KSU; 5-1-1) this Thursday evening. (With next week's 2 conference matches also in Boulder, sure the team is looking for a quick start while they get the benefit of "home cooking".)
Note - With conference play beginning, looks like there are 3 Big 12 teams ranked in the Top 25 this week - BYU (#12), TCU (#14) and Kansas (#21).

As was true both last season and so far this season, streams should be available for all home matches and road conference matches for those with a premium ($) ESPN+ subscription. (See more details and link(s) near the bottom of this post.)

As I also stated in my last volleyball thread, figured I'd start also noting a couple other ratings (in addition to RPI) that are publically available. (From what I read in the Volleytalk forum, RPI AND KPI (Kevin Pauga Index) are the only 2 ratings that the NCAA selection committees use for tourney selection in that sport. (The AI in a Google search says the soccer committee DOES also KPI.) Then, the Massey rankings, which are the only other free ratings I know of, are considered more accurate (then at least RPI) in evaluating a team as they factor in things like scores and home vs. away results, which RPI doesn't. Note that with soccer being farther along in its season, we do now have RPI ratings for this season, so all the below are for the current season.)
RPI (https://www.ncaa.com/rankings/soccer-women/d1/ncaa-womens-soccer-rpi ) - CU is at #39 while KSU is #46.
KPI (https://faktorsports.com/. Note that to get these numbers I had to select various options to obtain these numbers.) - As I type this, the ratings website isn't working, as every team is showing as #1. If they get fixed and I remember to look, I'll edit this later.
Massey ((from https://masseyratings.com/csocw/ncaa-d1/ratings) - CU is at #24, while KSU is #66.

Go Buffs!!!
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Links with more info on the Wildcats:

Roster - https://www.kstatesports.com/sports/womens-soccer/roster
Stats - https://www.kstatesports.com/sports/womens-soccer/stats/2025
Schedule/ results - https://www.kstatesports.com/sports/womens-soccer/schedule
Their preview article for the match with the Buffs - https://www.kstatesports.com/news/2...e-opens-big-12-action-at-colorado-on-thursday
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Media links:

Link to links to Live stats for the match - https://www.statbroadcast.com/events/statbroadcast.php?t=1&gid=colo .
Direct links for this match - https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=594036


Live Video: The match is scheduled to be provided through the premium ($) ESPN+ subscription service, available either on the ESPN app or at https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/fa15cf68-5751-432c-8bc7-b831e94ec0ad .

Match notes (If blank, they weren't available as I type this.) -

Kansas State notes - University of Colorado Athletics

Kansas State notes

cubuffs.com

 

[AztecBuff]

 

[AztecBuff]

Preview for tomorrow night's match - https://cubuffs.com/news/2025/9/17/soccer-buffs-ready-for-big-12-slate

"

Buffs Ready for Big 12 Slate​

Colorado Opens the conference season on Thursday

By: Seth Pringle, Athletic Communications

BOULDER — Colorado soccer returns to Pretup Field on Thursday for the start of the Big 12 Conference season. The Buffaloes will kickoff a three-game homestand with Kansas State ( 7 p.m. MT).

Colorado (6-1-1) has notably turned eyes this season on the offensive side of the ball. The Buffs have outscored opponents 28-6 in their eight non-conference contests and rank fourth in the nation in total goals scored. The duo of Jace Holley (20) and Hope Leyba (18) is the only pair of teammates that rank nationally in the top 10 in total points, at 3rd and 5th, respectively.

But while the offense has been posting all the big statistical highlights, the team's defensive unit has been quietly doing its job in the background. The Buffs are coming off a 2-0 win at Denver, in which the Pioneers were held to an opponent low of three total shots and just one shot on goal.

"After giving up that goal in the first 25 seconds to Wyoming, I feel we've been really solid defensively," head coach Danny Sanchez explained. "We didn't give Wisconsin a lot, and then I thought we probably had one of our better performances against Denver. We're hitting our stride defensively, and it's a cohesive group, led by an All-American goalkeeper [Jordan Nytes]."

Sanchez and the Buffs have trotted out almost the same starting lineup all season long, making just a few minor tweaks in the formation and the defensive line. CU started in a 4-4-2, but shifted to a 4-3-3 three games into the season, allowing Emerson Layne to contribute up top from the start. Defensively, the core group has remained intact with Caley Swierenga, Faith Leyba, and Jordan Whiteaker starting each match and Lilan Zamorano and Greer Maguire swapping starting positions.

"The players that have gone in are performing," Sanchez added. "You can see it from the results. So we're not ever going to make changes for the sake of making changes, but, having said that, there's still a lot of competition for starting spots and key playing time."

The structure of Colorado's schedule so far this season has been beneficial to the Buffs. CU has played just two road games, with its trip to Wisconsin marking the only game outside of the state of Colorado. The Buffs have played six matches at Prentup Field and made the drive down to Denver. With the next three games at home as well, the CU will have played 10 of its first 11 games inside the Centennial State.

"We have to take advantage of being at home," Sanchez continued. "We have to take advantage of being in front of our fans. We're going to have a [upcoming] stretch where we go on the road for five of eight games at some tough places. So, just like any team, we need to take advantage of being at home."

Thursday starts the race to the Big 12 Soccer Tournament. Each Big 12 team will get 11 chances to battle within the conference to fight for positioning inside the top eight in the conference standings, as the tournament field has been cut down by four spots from 2024.

"You only play 11 games, but there are 16 teams in the conference," Sanchez said of the importance of each upcoming match. "Only eight teams make the tournament. You don't play everybody. That could be good or that could be bad. You have to control what you can control, especially at home. Every team is fighting for points. If you look at last year, the difference between No. 3 and No. 10 in the standings was very marginal. With only eight teams making the Big 12 tournament, you have to pick up points early and often."
Brad Thompson will be on the call all season long on ESPN+.
...
"

 

[AztecBuff]

Conference opener day!

 

[AztecBuff]

The match is about to begin. Sounds like a pretty typical starting lineup for CU.

 

[AztecBuff]

It's scoreless at the half.

 

[AztecBuff]

The match ends 0-0.

 

[Bmixer]

really disappointing. their inability to score goals against better competition raises its ugly head again.

 

[MarkW]

On a beautiful night at Prentup Field in Boulder the soccer wasn’t so pretty. The Buffs hosted Kansas State in the Big XII opener for both squads which ended in a 0-0 draw.

The first half was disjointed with both sides struggling to string together passes to play out of their own end. The result was that chances were created by getting turnovers in the opposition’s defensive half. K-State’s only shot on goal came after an ill-advised pass from Jordan Nytes was intercepted and she was forced to parry the shot.

CU’s coaching staff made a couple of personnel changes at the half which helped the attack. Freshman Lilian Zamorano came in at left back and senior Mallory Allen in the midfield. Zamorano facilitated the attack by repeatedly advancing the ball out of the back and combining with teammates to get the ball into dangerous positions. She has good technical ability and tactical awareness. Going forward the coaching staff needs to figure out where to play her so that she can continue to bolster the attack.

Mallory Allen made a difference by giving the midfield more “bite,” she was physical in winning duels and suppressing K-State’s ability to move through the midfield.

Despite the improvement in the attack which generated four shots on goal - compared to one in the first half - the Buffs failed to score. K-State, with a new head coach, is vastly improved from last season and did a good job of taking away the long ball threat. Individually, Chloe Dillbeck and Lily Hendrickson repeatedly won 1 v 1 battles on the left side of the Wildcats' backline.

Highlights

CU stays at home next week, hosting Iowa State and Houston.