BOULDER - Colorado made its return to Prentup Field on Sunday afternoon count, blanking Utah State 2-0 for its second straight shutout and moving to 5-1-1 on the season. The No. 24 Buffaloes are now 5-0-0 at home, have stretched their home unbeaten run to 20 matches, and picked up their 151st victory at Prentup Field.
The matchup was a first in program history between Colorado and Utah State, and it came with a little extra flair before kickoff. CU staged a pregame mutton bustin' event as part of soccer's first-ever "Western Day," then spent the next 90 minutes controlling the afternoon against the Aggies.
"I thought the second half was very good. I told the team, Utah State is a very good team," head coach Danny Sanchez said.
"I thought we really limited their opportunities. Got two good goals, and maybe unfortunate to not get a couple more.
Thought our pressing in the second half and our quality of movement in the final third was very good. So a very solid win against a very good team."
Colorado set the tone early by drawing a penalty after a foul on senior defender Faith Leyba. Senior midfielder Reagan Kotschau handled the spot kick and buried it in the bottom right corner as Utah State goalkeeper Ivy Nystrom guessed left, putting the Buffs in front 1-0.
Kotschau’s goal gave her the solo lead in points for the 2026 season with 13. She also linked up with Hope Leyba on a goal from the corner, leaving her tied for the team lead in assists with the senior forward Hope.
The Buffs kept pressing through a physical first half, even as Utah State’s defense crowded the box and Nystrom turned away chance after chance. Freshman goalkeeper Brooke Goerish did her part on the other end, making five first-half saves to match her career high for a full game.
The opening 45 minutes were choppy at times, with the teams combining for 12 fouls, but Colorado still carried a 1-0 edge into halftime.
The second half brought the clincher. In the 63rd minute, Kotschau delivered another dangerous corner, and Hope rose to hammer home a header for Colorado’s second goal of the day.
That finish pushed Hope’s career points total to 76, leaving her just two shy of tying Katie Griffin’s 78 for fifth on Colorado’s career points list.
Kotschau pointed to the clean sheet as much as the goals.
"It just shows that we're really defending as a whole, and our backline is connected," said Kotschau. "It's something we've been working on too. It's just as important as getting goals to us."
Colorado finished with 15 shots and a 12-3 advantage in corner kicks, while Goerish ended up with seven saves as the Buffs closed out a hard-earned win over the Aggies.
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