No. 24 Colorado’s 14-match home winning streak ended Sunday at Prentup Field, where Kansas scored with six minutes left and held on for a 1-0 win. The loss dropped the Buffs to 9-4-1 overall and 3-3-0 in the Big 12, three days after they’d beaten Baylor on the same field. CU Athletics said it also ended a 23-match home unbeaten run dating to Oct. 13, 2024.
Neither side found a breakthrough in a first half that finished 0-0 with five shots apiece, according to KU Athletics. Colorado nearly went ahead when Kansas’ Caroline Castans got her head to a Hope Leyba shot and sent it off the crossbar, a play upheld on review, the Lawrence Journal-World reported. Kansas goalkeeper Sophie Dawe made a save in the 59th minute. The winner came late. Jordan Rowan slid to win a loose ball at the top of the box and pushed it to Marit McLaughlin, whose shot deflected off a Colorado defender and into the net.
Kansas improved to 10-3-1 overall and 4-1-1 in the Big 12, which moved the Jayhawks into a tie for second in the conference. It was their first win over a ranked opponent this season and McLaughlin’s fourth goal. Colorado finished with one more shot than Kansas, and KU Athletics said it was the first time the Jayhawks had been outshot all year. The Jayhawks hadn’t conceded since a loss at Baylor on Oct. 2.
The Buffs had their chances to answer. The Journal-World credited Hope Leyba, Faith Leyba and Reagan Kotschau with three shots each and said Dawe’s 59th-minute stop came on a long-range try from Sloane Phillips. At the other end, Colorado goalkeeper Brooke Goerish turned away two Castans attempts about a minute apart in the second half. Hope Leyba was held off the board and stayed at 41 career goals, one behind Nikki Marshall for second in program history, according to CU’s next match preview.
Colorado closed its homestand with the loss and goes back on the road at Kansas State on Friday, Oct. 16, in Manhattan, Kan. The Buffs don’t play at Prentup Field again until Cincinnati visits Oct. 30.
