Colorado’s postseason haul in the Big 12 came with a little bit of everything: major individual awards, a pile of all-conference recognition and a reminder of how deep this Buffaloes squad ran all season.
Reagan Kotschau, Faith and Brooke Goerish headlined the group, with all three earning unanimous Big 12 honors. Kotschau was named Midfielder of the Year, Faith took Defender of the Year and Goerish landed Freshman of the Year. In all, Colorado collected 11 postseason honors from the conference.
The Buffs placed three players on the All-Big 12 first team - Kotschau, Faith and Hope Leyba - while Goerish, Caley Swierenga and Michaela McGowan earned second-team nods. Goerish also made the All-Freshmen Team as a unanimous selection, joined there by fellow freshman Sloane Phillips.
Those honors reflect a regular season that finished at 14-4-1 overall and 8-3-0 in Big 12 play. Colorado closed with five straight wins and four consecutive shutouts, a late surge that sharpened the case for the awards that followed.
Kotschau’s season was the kind that forces attention. The senior midfielder became the first Colorado player to post double figures in both goals and assists in the same season, finishing with 10 goals, a school-record 12 assists and a team-best 32 points. She also added four game-winning goals.
Her two assists in the 5-0 Senior Night win over Oklahoma State broke, then extended, CU’s single-season assists record. In Big 12 play, she paced Colorado with 17 points, producing five goals and seven assists across 11 conference matches.
Faith’s award came on the strength of a defense that kept opponents in check all year. Colorado posted 12 shutouts and allowed 14 goals in 19 regular-season matches, and the senior defender was in the lineup from start to finish. She contributed three goals and two assists for eight points, while helping the Buffs blank seven conference opponents.
Leyba’s first-team selection was backed by a strong finish, with all three of her goals coming during Colorado’s five-match winning streak to end the regular season. She scored against Arizona, Arizona State and Oklahoma State.
Goerish wasted no time making her mark in her first college season. She appeared in all 19 matches, started 15 and was in the starting XI for all 11 conference games. She finished with a 13-3-0 record and a 0.65 goals-against average, along with seven solo shutouts and five shared shutouts.
In Big 12 play, the freshman allowed eight goals and picked up eight conference wins while posting five solo shutouts and two combined shutouts.
Hope matched Kotschau with 10 goals and four game-winners, and she added four assists for 24 points. The senior forward started all 19 matches, led Colorado with 71 shots and 32 shots on goal, and scored four times in conference play, including three game-winners.
Swierenga started all 18 matches she played and helped Colorado’s back line limit opponents to 0.74 goals per game. She also chipped in two assists, including the feed on Faith’s goal in the 2-0 win at Arizona State.
McGowan was another steady presence, starting all 19 matches and finishing third on the team with seven goals and 15 points. She added an assist and two game-winning goals, including the only goal in Colorado’s 1-0 win over Cincinnati on Oct. 30.
Phillips rounded out the freshman recognition with two goals and seven assists for 11 points in 19 appearances and 13 starts. Her seven assists tied the Colorado freshman record shared by Kate Russell and Emily Groark.
She matched that mark with two assists against Oklahoma State and added a goal for a career-high four points. Six of her seven assists came in Big 12 play.
Colorado now turns to the Big 12 Tournament as the fourth seed, facing fifth-seeded Kansas in the quarterfinals Monday, Nov. 9, at 10:30 a.m. MT at Texas Health Mansfield Stadium in Mansfield, Texas.
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