Buffs score three second-half goals to eliminate UCF from Big 12 tournament

Colorado Buffaloes soccer celebrates after a go-ahead goal in the first round of the Big 12 Championship against UCF. (Photo via CUBuffsSoccer/X)

FORT WORTH, Tex. – As the saying goes, 2-0 is the most dangerous lead in soccer.

On Monday night, the No. 3-seeded Colorado Buffaloes (15-2-3, 9-1-2 Big 12) demonstrated that the saying is still as true as ever. The Buffs, spearheaded by a two-goal performance from striker Hope Leyba, came back from down 2-0 to beat the No. 6-seeded UCF Knights (11-3-5, 5-2-5 Big 12) 3-2 in the first round of the Big 12 Championship tournament..

CU was the only top seed to win in round one, as No. 1-seeded BYU, No. 2-seeded West Virginia, and No. 4-seeded Texas Tech were all eliminated. Early on, it seemed that the Buffs were also in for an early exit from the tournament. 

In the 12th minute of play, UCF forward Rajanah Reed received a filtered ball near the penalty area and calmly slotted the ball into the bottom right bin to give her squad the lead.

Following the goal, Colorado looked determined to find the equalizer. Leyba and striker Emerson Layne each had shots on goal, but both were denied by Knights goalkeeper Genesis Perez Watson. The shot stopper is the current Big 12 Goalkeeper of the Week, and last season made 14 saves against the Buffs.

“We had a lot of chances, but just not enough quality to get the goal,” CU head coach Danny Sanchez said.

Despite the growing attack from Buffs, UCF extended its lead to two in the 30th minute after a deflected shot made its way to the far post and was nodded in by midfielder Ella Holloran. 

Heading into halftime, CU was flat-out outplayed by UCF. The Knights only had one more shot on goal than their opponents, but they had made the most of their opportunities and outworked Colorado.

During his halftime interview, Sanchez stressed the importance of scoring a goal within the first 15 minutes of the second half to give his squad a chance. 

In minute 53, Leyba scored the much-needed goal off a bouncing ball to pull Colorado within one. 

Five minutes later, a cross from midfielder Reagan Kotschau found striker Jace Holley near the penalty area. The sophomore put the ball past Perez Watson and into the net to level the game at two.

In the 65th minute, Leyba scored her 21st goal of the season off a headed corner kick into the back of the net. In the first 20 minutes of the second half, the Buffs scored three times to take the lead.

CU’s backline, led by goalkeeper Jordan Nytes, who made five saves, held firm for the final 25 minutes of the fixture. In the final minutes, it was still the Buffs who were on the offensive. 

"We definitely didn't start good at all," Leyba told Seth Pringle of CU Athletics. "But we never gave up and we knew that we had this game. We just had to play our best."

Colorado is set to take on the No. 7-seeded Kansas Jayhawks (13-4-3, 6-4-1 Big 12) in the semi-final of the tournament. In their first meeting in the last game of the regular season, the Buffs defeated Kansas 2-1 thanks to an 87th-minute winner from Kotschau. 

The semi-final is set to kick off on Wednesday at 6 p.m. MT (ESPN+).