MANHATTAN, Kan. – Surely, Colorado Buffaloes junior goalkeeper and co-captain Jordan Nytes has to have attended one of her school’s football games in the past two years.
But, has anyone ever seen her and Travis Hunter in the same room?
Nytes may not play both sides of the ball, (though she has one assist this season) but her athletic play in clutch moments has been reminiscent of the stud who plays at Folsom Field instead of Prentup. She displayed her abilities in a 1-0 victory over the Kansas State Wildcats (3-4-1, Big 12 0-1) on Thursday night, helping the Buffs to a 7-1 overall record and an undefeated start to conference play. She only made five saves in the road game but got her bang for her buck with each one, maintaining her streak of almost 520 minutes played without giving up a goal.
“The two saves in the first half were first class,” CU head coach Danny Sanchez said about Nytes in his postgame interview, “and the second half she managed the game well. She didn’t have a ton to deal with, but when she did, she dealt with it well.”
Two of Nytes’ three first half saves came back-to-back after Kansas State sophomore forward Ryann Reynolds found a one-on-one opportunity. Reynolds had snuck free after a pass found its way through multiple CU defenders, allowing her a shot from just inside the 12-yard mark. Nytes stuck out her right foot to make the stop before alertly saving Reynolds’ putback attempt off the rebound, keeping a scoreless game in the 21st minute.
Outside of Nytes’ performance, the Buffs played a strong match. While not allowing many opportunities at its goalkeeper, Colorado turned its defense into offense and put 13 shots on goal. Wildcats junior goalkeeper Murphy Sheaff turned down 12 of them, putting together a fine game of keeping herself. The one she didn’t save, however, made all the difference.
Coming in the 49th minute, despite numerous chances to that point, CU freshman forward Jace Holley scored the game’s lone goal and her second of the season. The opportunity came after the ball bounced to sophomore forward Claire Curran at the top of the box, who acted like she was shooting before finding a wide-open Holley in front of the net.
“We needed an extra pass,” Sanchez said. “I thought it was a great pass from Claire Curran and a quality finish from Jace Holley.”
Following the score, the Buffs mostly remained in control. Towards the end of the match, Kansas State found some opportunities and multiple corner kicks. Yet, Nytes was there to stop a point-blank one-timer and a chance off a corner kick in the 76th and 77th minutes.
The black and gold cruised to yet another victory, the third 1-0 win in their last four games.
With a week off before facing Oklahoma State (7-0-1, Big 12 1-0), the only team in the Big 12 that has given up zero goals, the Buffs will prepare to beat one of the tougher teams in the conference. That game will take place on Thursday night in Stillwater, Oklahoma at 6 p.m. MT (ESPN+).
Cover photo by @CUBuffsSoccer/X
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