Women’s soccer: Second-half rally lifts CU Buffs past Georgia in NCAA Tournament

During a lengthy scoreless streak that nearly derailed the season down the stretch, it seemed at times the Colorado women’s soccer team couldn’t buy a break.

Given a chance to extend the season in the NCAA Tournament, the Buffaloes certainly made their own breaks. And they were in the right place in the right time to take advantage of a critical defensive miscue by Georgia.

That proved to be a winning combination, as the Buffs rallied for a 3-2 victory to eliminate the host Bulldogs in an NCAA Tournament first-round battle in Athens, Ga. The Buffs had suffered first-round losses in their previous two NCAA Tournament appearances, and Friday’s effort marked CU’s first three-goal game since the third game of the season on Aug. 22.

CU (12-4-5) will play at second-seeded Wake Forest in the second round.

The Buffs trailed 2-1 at halftime but advanced behind second-half goals from Hope Leyba and Shyra James, who converted a Georgia turnover into the winning tally in the 63rd minute. Already CU’s all-time goals leader, James’ 47th career goal allowed her to become the second Buffs player to reach 100 points in her career. James now has 101 points, one behind all-time leader Taylor Kornieck.

“Soccer is a funny game, and once Hope got that (tying) goal I thought we had a lot of momentum,” said head coach Danny Sanchez, who has reached the second round in six of his eight NCAA Tournament appearances with the Buffs. “We kept pressing. And Shyra’s just really, really smart. She knows where to be. To pick that pass off and, more importantly, the composure to bury it, was first class.”

Leyba didn’t figure in the statistical record for CU’s opening goal, but it was the sophomore forward who made the play.

It was Leyba who delivered a hustling individual effort to score CU’s first goal in a comeback win against Utah in the Big 12 tournament, a victory that essentially saved the Buffs’ season. Leyba’s hustle again got CU going in the NCAA Tournament. After racing to keep a ball in play along the end line, Leyba drew a foul while trying to deliver a centering pass. Ava Priest converted the penalty kick to give the Buffs a 1-0 lead.

Georgia soon answered, scoring twice in a span of 6 minutes, 52 seconds to give the Bulldogs a 2-1 lead at halftime.

“The amount of effort and determination from (Leyba) and her sister is off the charts,” Sanchez said. “You look at last year and the early part of this year, she wasn’t getting the reward for it. That was just a flat-out effort play. And Ava wanted it. She went up and buried it. But the effort from Hope to keep it alive was awesome.”

Leyba blasted home her own rebound in the 55th minute, tying the game at 2-2 and giving her goals in three consecutive games for the first time in her collegiate career. After James connected on the eventual winner, Georgia twice had shots draw iron down the stretch. CU’s Jordan Nytes finished with seven saves, tying the fourth-most by a Buffs’ goalie in an NCAA Tournament match.

“We’ve been due for a performance like this,” Sanchez said. “Even though we were down 2-1, I thought we really bought into the game plan and were playing well. Hope getting that goal really gave us a belief that we could come back and win it. And then Shyra does what Shyra does. She scores goals.”

CU Buffs women’s soccer 3, Georgia 2

Colorado            1 2 — 3

Georgia              2 0 — 2

Goals — Colorado: Priest (PK), 24th minute; H. Leyba (unassisted), 55th minute; James (unassisted), 63rd minute. Georgia: Detruzio (White), 30th minute; White (Akers), 37th minute.

Goalies (Min.-goals allowed-saves) — Colorado: Nytes (90-2-7). Georgia: Brown (90-3-4).

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