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2025 Big 12 Tourney thread- #3 seed SOCCER (Matches @ TCU & Baylor; 11/3-8; 1st round vs. #6 seed UCF Monday, 11/3 @ 7:00 PM MT; ESPN+)

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(I plan on continuing to use and update this thread and post as, hopefully, the Buffs advance in the tournament.)

It's a few days until the #11 ranked (as of 10/26) and #3 tourney seed Buff SOCCER (14-2-3 overall; 8-1-2 in Big 12 play), are scheduled to start their 2nd Big 12 tourney championship since returning to the conference with a 1st round match Monday evening (11/3) at 7:00 PM MT against a team they didn't face during conference play this season***, the #6 seed Univ. of Central Florida Knights (UCF; 11-2-5, 5-1-5).
(***The only matchup ever between the Buffs and Knights was last season in a regular season match at Prentup that ended in a scoreless draw.)

The winner of the CU-UCF match is scheduled to play a quarterfinal match, scheduled to begin at 6:00 PM MT on Wednesday, 11/5, against the winner of the match between the #2 seed / #19 ranked (as of 10/26) West Virginia Mountaineers (13-2-3, 8-0-3) and #7 seed Kansas Jayhawks (12-4-3, 6-4-1).

All 1st and sem-final rounds are scheduled to be played at TCU's Garvey-Rosenthal Soccer Stadium November 3 and 5, while the championship match will be held at Baylor's Betty Lou Mays Soccer Field on November 8 (scheduled to start at 6:00 PM MT).

As with all CU home soccer matches and all conference tilts, all tourney matches are slotted to be streamed on (the premium) ESPN+ platform. (Links and more information about coverage for each potential CU game is available further down in this post.)

Go Buffs!!!
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A little more on the upcoming opponent(s):

UCF -
Roster - https://ucfknights.com/sports/womens-soccer/roster
Stats - https://ucfknights.com/sports/womens-soccer/stats
Schedule/ results - https://ucfknights.com/sports/womens-soccer/schedule
Their preview article for the match with the Buffs -

2nd / semi-final Round opponent - Kansas -
Roster - https://kuathletics.com/sports/womens-soccer/roster
Stats - https://kuathletics.com/sports/womens-soccer/stats/2025
Schedule/ results - https://kuathletics.com/sports/womens-soccer/schedule
Their preview article for the match with the Buffs - https://kuathletics.com/news/2025/1...ado-in-big-12-tournament-semifinals-wednesday

Championship match opponent (If CU advances) -
Roster -
Stats -
Schedule/ results -
Their preview article for the match with the Buffs -
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Media links:

Article with the initial match schedule (Also contains info on purchasing tickets.) - https://big12sports.com/news/2025/1...-soccer-tournament-presented-by-allstate.aspx

Tourney Bracket (PDF format. As noted at the bottom of it, all times listed are Central.) - https://big12sports.com/documents/2025/10/30//2025_Soccer_Champ_Bracket.pdf

Live video: All matches are scheduled to be provided through the premium ($) ESPN+ subscription service, available either on the ESPN app or at:
Vs. UCF - https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/eaafc91e-8b85-47d9-91cf-4075c9c1aaaa
2nd/ semi-final round vs. Kansas - https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/05658735-1668-48ff-97c8-384ffb7f68c9
Championship match (If CU advances) - https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/61c15345-028a-43bc-bace-e716c69f6ca0

Live stats: (General live stats links for all tourney match should be at https://www.statbroadcast.com/events/tournament.php?tid=810 . Direct links (if available as I type/ edit this) are.) -
Vs. UCF - https://stats.statbroadcast.com/statmonitr/?id=623453
2nd/ semi-final round vs. Kansas - https://stats.statbroadcast.com/statmonitr/?id=623455
Championship match (If CU advances) -

Tournament (match) notes -
Vs. UCF - https://cubuffs.com/documents/2025/11/2/SOC_2025_Game20_Big_12_1.pdf
2nd/ semi-final round vs. Kansas - https://cubuffs.com/documents/2025/11/4/SOC_2025_Game20_Big_12_2.pdf
Championship match (If CU advances) -
 
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Preview for tomorrow's match - https://cubuffs.com/news/2025/11/2/soccer-no-11-colorado-primed-for-big-12-tournament

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Photo by: CUBuffs.com

No. 11 Colorado Primed for Big 12 Tournament​

The Buffaloes earned the No. 3 seed and open against UCF on Monday

By: Seth Pringle, Athletic Communications

FORT WORTH, Texas – The 2025 Big 12 Soccer Tournament presented by Allstate gets underway from Fort Worth, Texas. No. 11 Colorado, the tournament's No. 3 seed, will take on No. 6-seeded UCF in the fourth and final first-round game on Monday night.

Colorado (14-2-3) carries a six-match unbeaten streak into the tournament. The Buffaloes went 5-0-1 down the stretch, closing the Big 12 season with 26 points (8-1-2). CU's eight conference wins are tied for the most in program history, matching the 2003 and 2016 seasons.

"We're excited for Monday night," head coach Danny Sanchez said of the start of the tournament. "We have a chance to compete for a championship. We were kind of close in the regular season—off by a couple of points. But now we have another opportunity.

The Buffaloes have put together a season for the record books in 2025. As a team, Colorado has set new records for goals (48), assists (53) and points (149). Individually, forward Hope Leyba has set the single-season record for goals (19) and points (39), while goalkeeper Jordan Nytes has set the career mark for shutouts with 26.

"When you look at the analytics, if you score a lot more goals and give up less goals, you have a better chance of being successful," Sanchez joked. "We've been good defensively all year. Obviously, we believe we have the best goalkeeper in the country in Jordi and one of the best center backs in Faith Leyba, and our back four has been solid all year. Hope gets a lot of attention and deservedly so, but Jace [Holley] has been fantastic. Emerson [Layne] has had a fantastic season. Reagan Kotschau and Ava Priest have really turned it on late in the year. We're pleased with where we are at, but there's a lot of soccer to play still."

The Buffaloes draw the Knights for the first time this season. UCF is just one of two teams in the eight-team field, along with West Virginia, that Colorado did not play in the regular season.

UCF (11-2-5) ranks 24th in the NCAA and leads the Big 12 in goals-against average, holding opponents to just 0.67 goals per game. UCF is eighth in the league with a +14 goal differential, led by Liz Worden and her seven tallies this season.

"They're playing really well right now," Sanchez said of UCF. "They have given up the least amount of goals in the Big 12 this season. They had a nice win over BYU on a Monday and then had to travel to Texas Tech for [TTU's] Senior Day and a scoreless draw. It's going to be a huge challenge for us. There's a reason they're 23 or 24 in the RPI [27 current]. The league this year is 'that league' where every game is going to be that way."

The Buffs are in an interesting position compared to years past. The team is virtually assured of a spot in the NCAA Tournament, where, compared to last season, CU needed results in the Big 12 Tournament to extend its season. Colorado is currently 7th in the RPI and in a good spot to host the first round in Boulder.

"The league has been brutal this season," Sanchez noted. "That's good, because we have the eight teams in the tournament, for sure. I think any of these eight teams can win this tournament."

The entire tournament will be streamed on ESPN+. Kickoff against UCF is set at 7 p.m. MT.

For more information on Colorado Soccer, please visit cubuffs.com/soccer. Fans of the Buffs can follow @cubuffssoccer on Instagram, X, TikTok and Facebook.
"
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This week's show -

 
And there's a 2nd upset after a 2nd shootout, as host and #1 seed TCU has lost in penalty kicks to #8 seed BYU. (As was already mentioned in another thread, #5 seed Baylor in the 1st match of the day also won in penalty kicks, in their case over #4 seed Texas Tech.)

Note - The 3rd match (West Virginia-Kansas) was supposed to have begun 30 minutes ago, and the TCU-BYU match just ended a few minutes ago, so I'd assume the Buff-UCF match is not going to be starting near the scheduled 7:00 PM MT time.

Also, while it's fresh in my mind, for those who don't know, NCAA soccer tourney overtime rules are:
1) They play 2 10 minute overtime halves, with team's switching sides between the halves. After going away for at least a couple years, I believe before last season the rules committee reinstated the "golden goal", so if any team scores in overtime the match is immediately over.

2) If neither team scores in the 20 minutes of extra time, it goes to the classic 5 attempts per team (if needed) penalty kick phase.
 
I just saw in KU soccer's social media that, with the 2 long overtimes in the 1st 2 matches, the scheduled time for their match to start is now 5:42 PM MT, so I'd GUESS, IF their match with WVU ends in regulation, the Buffs'-UCF match won't be starting much before 8:00-8:15 PM MT. And, of course, if KU-WVU also goes to overtime, CU's match might be pushed back up to another 30 minutes.
(Personally, at least, looking at the bright-side, guess I might be able to catch a half or so of the men's basketball opener.)
 
It looks like CU is going to have to break a trend from today as, for the 3rd straight match, the lower seed has won. In this case, it didn't need to go to overtime as, after KU got on the board in the 33rd minute, it stayed tight for quite awhile, but then within an 8 minute span (from the 77th minute), #2 seed Kansas scored 3 more to win 4-0 over #2 seed WVU. (KU ended up with a BIG 22-7 advantage in shots and 14-2 in shots on goal.)

With them seeming to want around 30 minutes between matches, I'd GUESS the CU-UCF match may start around 8:15 PM MT, but I don't see anything official yet. (I'll post when I do see something.)
 
The match is about to begin, and the broadcast has started.

CU starters (look to be the normal ones) are -

1762226260363.png
 
Wierd 2nd goal for UCF puts them up 2-0 in the 30th minute.

CU is getting some good opportunities; hopefully they'll be able to start converting some.
 
And a nice win at the top of the box by a Buff (Believe Layne) as she's able to head it ahead to a streaking H. Leyba and she heads it in.

1-2 UCF in the 53rd minute.
 
And Holley equalizes it as she makes a long run and, I believe, Priest Kotschau hits a beautiful long pass from around the center line that finds her in stride and Holley pokes it by the goalie.

It's tied at 2 in the 57th minute.
 
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Hope leyba busting in like the Kool-aid guy


Oh Yeah Surprise GIF



She's a straight up baller.
 
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Comeback accomplished!

3-2 is the final.

(Don't know if I've ever seen the Buffs SWARM as hard as they did in this one in the 2nd half. They seemed to be challenging almost every Knight pass and possession and winning the ball back a LOT.)

Now it's on to a TOUGH KU team on Wednesday that gave the Buffs EVERYTHING they could handle in their match last week.
 
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Media after tonight's win:

Article - https://cubuffs.com/news/2025/11/3/...alf-goals-springs-no-11-buffs-into-semifinals

"

Three Second Half Goals Springs No. 11 Buffs into Semifinals​

Buffs complete comeback to face Kansas on Wednesday

By: Seth Pringle, Athletic Communications

FORT WORTH, Texas — No. 11 Colorado used three second-half goals to secure a 3-2 comeback victory over UCF on Monday at Garvey-Rosenthal Soccer Stadium.

Colorado (15-2-3), the No. 3 seed, after a series of first-round upsets on Monday, now advances as the highest remaining seed in the Big 12 Tournament.

Kickoff was delayed by an hour and 20 minutes due to the earlier games running long in the leadup. The Buffs' start was also seeminly delayed as well as TCU (11-3-5) got two goals from Rajanah Reed and Ella Holloran to jump out to the 2-0 advantage in the first 30 minutes of the night.

"Coaches always look for excuses, but they [UCF] had the same thing that we did and it's two hours later because they're on eastern time," head coach Danny Sanchez said of the slow start. "I don't think it [the pushed back start] was [a factor]. Both teams came out ready to play. They just came out more ready at the start."

After trailing 2-0 in the first half, the Buffaloes responded with three second-half unanswered goals to complete the comeback. The come-from-behind win marked the first time CU has won after trailing by two since Nov. 3, 2023, at Utah.

Hope Leyba scored two goals, the first and the game-winner, and led the team with nine shots, six of which were on goal. Leyba's performance brought her season total to 21 goals.

"We definitely didn't start good at all," Leyba reiterated. "But we never gave up and we knew that we had this game. We just had to play our best."

Jace Holley added the equalizing goal to her tally and had three shots, two on target. Jordan Nytes made five saves across the 90 minutes to secure the victory. Ava Priest and Emerson Layne each contributed with an assist.

Colorado outshot UCF 12-4 in the second half, with six shots on goal in the final 45 minutes. The Buffs totaled 19 shots on the night with 10 on goal.
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Box score -
cubuffs.com

University of Colorado Athletics

University of Colorado Athletics
cubuffs.com cubuffs.com











 
Hope has such a very sweet manner about her in her interviews. Totally opposite of how she plays.
 
It was a day of first round upsets in the Big XII tournament that saw the higher seed lose in the first three matches. In the final match of the day the Buffs looked like they would be next as they were down 0-2 at the half to UCF. No so fast - CU came out and dominated the second half racing to a 3-2 victory. They will face Kansas on Wednesday night at TCU while BYU and Baylor meet in the other semi-final.

UCF scored in the 12’ when Rajanah Reed slotted home a through ball from Liz Warden which caught CU’s Caley Swierenga ball watching, allowing Reed a lot of space to work with. UCF’s second goal was a bit crazy when a shot deflected off a defender and popped high and into the mouth of the goal where two defenders and one attacker tried to make a play on it. It’s not clear if the ball was over the line already or it got some help, but regardless, it counted.

CU owned the second half and opened up their scoring run when Emerson Layne popped a ball over the defense to a rushing Hope Leyba who calmly finished - in the 53’. The Buffs next goal also came courtesy of a ball that went over the top of the defense. This one was longer and required more precision. Reagan Kotschau hit a direct pass that was perfectly timed to put Jace Holley behind the defense for another calm finish (57’)

The Buffs haven’t scored on a lot of set pieces, but they did on Thursday to beat Kansas and in this game it was on a corner taken by Ava Priest that found Hope Leyba charging and then rising high to bury the ball (65’).

Coming into this match UCF had the best goals against average in conference play at .636. It’s hard to limit CU’s scoring as they have two quality finishers in Hope and Jace and multiple players that provide timely, quality service.

#6 UCF vs. #3 Colorado Highlights (11.3.25) | 2025 Big 12 Soccer Tournament presented by Allstate
 
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