Oct. 14, 2005
BOULDER, Colo. - Missouri scored two unanswered goals to cut Colorado's advantage to one goal but the Tigers could not hit the equalizer as the they fell to Colorado 3-2 on Friday afternoon in Boulder, Colo.
After defending much of the first half, Missouri (7-5-3, 2-3-2) came back strong in the second half but could their comeback fell short against Colorado (8-5-2, 4-2-0). The Tigers were narrowly outshot 18-17 in the game.
Colorado got on the board in the in the 28th minute on a perfectly executed corner kick. Kathryn Grandinett's corner kick sailed five yards in front of the goal where Nikki Keller headed the ball down past Tiger sophomore goalie Laura Buehrig and into the lower netting for a 1-0 Buff lead.
Four minutes later, Colorado nearly struck again as Buehrig came out to challenge Katie Griffn and left the goal open. Griffin got a shot off but Tiger junior defender Lauren Grice reached the goal line just in time to clear the ball and save a goal.
The Buffaloes added to their margin when Michelle Wenino sent a pass up to a streaking Katie Griffin, who blasted a shot from the top of the box past a diving Buehrig and into the upper part of the goal.
With less than four minutes remaining in the first half, freshman Ashley Hamblin received a pass and dribbled into the box. Hamblin stuck a ball from eight yards out that flew just wide of the goal to squander the scoring opportunity.
After Allison Kidd increased Colorado's lead to 3-0 in the 51st minute, the Tigers responded with a goal of their own on a corner opportunity in the 64th minute. Junior midfielder Elyse Nikonchuk one-timed the rebound from senior forward Jennifer Nobis' header past Buff goalie Jessica Keller to cut Colorado's advantage to 3-1. Senior Erica Pusch also picked up an assist on the goal.
In the 73rd minute, the Tigers struck again on another corner kick. Pusch sailed the ball into the box that Nobis headed in from the back post for a 3-2 score.
The Tigers nearly tied the score one minute later as senior forward Amber Swinehart corralled a loose ball at the top of the box, turned and fired a shot on goal but Jessica Keller made a diving save to preserve the 3-2 win for Colorado.
Buehrig made seven saves in goal for the Tigers, including a sprawling save to punch out a Buff shot early in the first half.
The Tigers travel to Lubbock, Texas for a 12:00 p.m. contest with the Texas Tech Red Raiders on Sunday, Oct. 16. Kickoff was originally scheduled for 1:00 p.m. but was moved up to 12:00 p.m. Missouri then returns home to close out the regular season home schedule with a game against Texas on Friday, Oct. 21 at 7:00 p.m. and non-conference opponent Colorado College on Sunday, Oct. 23 at 1:00 p.m.