Utah wanted to end its season with a silver lining in the final game in Boulder, but all it got was disappointment.
“It’s just little details that, collectively, we just need to get better at,” said junior Lindsey Luke. “I don’t think we played bad. We had opportunities, but it was just little details.”
The Utes fell to Colorado 2-0 on Friday afternoon, and despite a promising start, Utah was both defensively and offensively exploited. The team struggled to create chances and stop the Colorado attack.
“A little too inconsistent in our defensive pressure,” said head coach Rich Manning. “I was pleased with some of the stuff we did attacking. I just thought our defense was a little lacking.”
The Utes started off strong, moving the ball well from sideline to sideline. The possession and decision-making that Manning had his team working on all year was paying off — the only thing that was missing was a shot on goal. A number of crosses came from the Utah attack, but there was no red to be found on the other end.
The Buffalo defense was impenetrable to the Utes. The back line moved as one unit, never showing a weakness. This allowed the Colorado attack some creative liberties, which led to its first goal in the 27th minute.
The goal was initially set up by a combo pass that sliced right through the middle of the Utah defense. While all eyes were on the ball, no Ute marked Buffalo sophomore Brie Hooks. The return pass to Hooks gave her a one-on-one with Luke in which she capitalized by burying her shot.
“Honestly, I was just trying to do my best in communicating,” Luke said. “I didn’t really see what happened. Then all of a sudden, she’s in the six-yard box.”
Ten minutes later, Utah allowed the second goal of the game, this one coming off a rebound from a blocked shot by Luke. The hard shot was too much for the goal keeper to handle, and she could not hold on to the ball. The Utes were too slow in clearing out the ball, and Colorado senior Darcy Jerman netted her rebound shot.
The second half brought little excitement with it, and it was only towards the end that any action occurred. In the final minute, down by two goals, Utah earned a corner kick. Desperate, the Utes packed all their players on the box, including Luke.
“Megan [Trabert] and Katie [Taylor] were in front of me, and I thought if they were going up for it I’m just going to stand here, just in case it popped out,” Luke said.
The ball did end up falling to Luke’s feet. Her attempt showed why she is a keeper and not a forward as Luke’s foot couldn’t connect with the ball. She had a chance to recover, but was a little too aggressive with one of the Colorado defenders. The play ended up with Luke receiving a yellow card rather than a goal.
“I was thinking, ‘I’m just going to hit this ball as hard as I could,’ ” Luke said. “I got a little too excited.”
The loss was payback from Colorado for what Utah did last year. The Utes earned an NCAA tournament berth after beating the Buffaloes last season, but it was Colorado’s turn to return the favor and increase its chances of making a tournament appearance.
The 2014 season is now over for the Utes. They started off with the best record in program history and finished with only one conference win.
 
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