Texas Tech rides dominant second half to beat Buffs
Sometimes, it just doesn’t go your way. And it didn’t for the Buffs on Sunday, as their five-game winning streak was snapped.
The No. 13 Colorado Buffaloes (8-2-1, 2-1-0 Big 12) fell 3-1 to the No. 25 Texas Tech Red Raiders (6-0-4, 2-0-1 Big 12) on the road in Lubbock, Texas.
The Red Raiders’ offense got going early with their leading goal-scorer, Taylor Zdrojewski, ripping off three shots in a two-minute span. The Buffs defense blocked two of them and goalkeeper Brooke Goerish made a stop to keep the game scoreless.
Colorado’s offense began to buzz as the first half went on. Freshman midfielder Hannah Healy ripped a shot that ricocheted off a Texas Tech defender’s body and straight to the foot of Colorado’s Emma Thielbahr. The senior defender ripped a looping shot that snuck under the top left 90 to lift the Buffs to a 1-0 lead in the 37th minute.
“I thought we created some good chances,” head coach Danny Sanchez said during his halftime interview. “A center back hitting a shot with her foot, we'll take it. We will take them as we go.”
Texas Tech made halftime adjustments that immediately made a difference.
Texas Tech midfielder Emma Torres connected with Raleigh Greason in the soft spot of the Buffs' defense. The sophomore ripped a shot past Goreish to equalize the score at one, just two minutes out of the break.
The goal marked the end of Colorado’s 555-minute shoutout streak.
Zdrojewski found an angle around the Buffs’ defense and slid a shot 5-hole through Goreish in the 55th minute to put the Red Raiders ahead 2-1.
From there, the play got scrappy. Texas Tech’s Gianna Gregoire and Colorado’s Jaiden Sidhu each were shown a yellow card for unsporting.
Zdrojewski capped off her brace after her shot deflected into the net to push the Red Raiders’ lead to two, 3-1 in the 70th minute.
Colorado attempted to claw its way back, ripping off six shots in the final 20 minutes; however, Texas Tech’s goalkeeper Addie Todd only needed to make two saves in the sequence.
One of those saves was off a penalty kick from Regan Kotschau in the 88th minute, who was a perfect 3-for-3 from the penalty spot on the season. Todd dove to her right; Kotschau shot center, but Todd stuck out her foot enough to deny the attempt.
“We gave up that early goal, which was disappointing," Sanchez said after the match. “Once we got down 3-1, we started to play a little bit again, but it was too late. So, it was a good learning experience for us.”
The Buffs' next matchup will be in Orlando, Florida, when they face the UCF Knights (5-2-1, 0-2-1 Big 12). Kickoff is set for Friday at 5 p.m. MT (ESPN+).
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