Buffs Ride Momentum into Home Opener Against Cornell After Statement Win Over No. 2 Northwestern
The Colorado Buffaloes didn’t just beat a top-ranked team - they sent a message. Now comes the real test: backing it up.
After stunning No. 2 Northwestern in a program-defining win, Colorado returns to Boulder for its home opener against Cornell on Sunday with confidence, composure, and a little bit of swagger.
The win over Northwestern wasn’t just historic - it was proof of concept. This team isn’t building toward something.
They’re already here.
“We’ve always believed in ourselves,” head coach Ann Elliott Whidden said after the upset. “But when you spend five weeks playing against your own teammates, it’s hard to know exactly where you stand. We knew coming into this game it was going to be a massive test… but when this group locks in on what they can control, they’re capable of great things.”
And they showed exactly what that looks like.
This isn’t a young team hoping to find its footing. It’s a veteran group that’s been through the battles - and now, they’re playing like it.
Against Northwestern, Colorado didn’t just come out swinging. They weathered runs, responded to pressure, and closed like a team that’s been there before.
“Getting momentum early is always important,” Whidden said. “But what I’m most proud of is how we sustained it. We had some tough stretches in the third quarter, but we stayed together and held strong.”
That’s not just execution - that’s experience. That’s a team that’s tired of letting big moments slip away.
Seniors Maddie Shoup and Jess Peluso were at the heart of it. Shoup, named Big 12 Attacker of the Week, scored five goals - three of them in the fourth quarter - to help seal the win. Peluso, meanwhile, anchored a defense that held one of the nation’s most explosive offenses to just nine goals and earned Big 12 Defender of the Week honors in the process.
Shoup’s consistency has been a weapon for Colorado. She’s now scored in 12 straight games, and she’s not just racking up numbers - she’s delivering in crunch time.
And when the Buffs needed a closer in net, junior goalkeeper Elena Oh answered the call. Named Big 12 Goalkeeper of the Week, Oh came up with several clutch saves in the final minutes to preserve the win and steady the defense when things got tight.
“Just solid in the net,” Whidden said. “She made the saves we absolutely needed to stay in it and keep believing.”
That belief - and that poise - is what carried Colorado through the final stretch. They didn’t flinch. They found a way.
“At the end of the day, there are always excuses you can make,” Whidden said. “But we just had to find a way. And in that last minute, they did - together.”
Now, the focus shifts to Cornell. Sunday’s matchup marks the first-ever meeting between the Buffs and Big Red - and it’s also Cornell’s season opener. The Ivy League squad went 9-6 overall and 3-4 in conference play last year, but they’ll be stepping into a charged environment at Kittredge Field, where Colorado will be looking to protect home turf and prove that last week wasn’t a fluke - it was the new standard.
Opening draw is set for Noon MT, a shift from the originally scheduled 1 p.m. start. The game will stream live on ESPN+ and CUBuffs.com/WatchLax, with live stats available at CUBuffs.com/WlaxStats.
Season and single-game tickets are available now at CUBuffs.com/WlaxTix.