Iowa State Falls to No. 15 Colorado in Big 12 Opener
AMES, Iowa – Iowa State went toe-to-toe with a top-15 power on Thursday night, turned the game into a street fight, and still walked away empty-handed.
No. 15 Colorado escaped its Big 12 opener with a 1-0 win, the difference coming from the penalty spot after 40 minutes of stubborn Cyclone resistance.
Defense stands tall, until the whistle
For most of the night, Iowa State’s back line did exactly what most teams haven’t managed against Colorado this season: it took the sting out of the Buffaloes’ prolific attack.
Colorado came out flying, ripping off three shots in the opening 10 minutes. The Cyclones met them head-on. Two efforts were blocked, the other drifted wide, and the tone was set – this wasn’t going to be a showcase for the Buffs’ attack, it was going to be a grind.
On the other end, Morgan Goodman nearly tilted the game the other way midway through the first half. She carved out a pair of looks, forcing a save on the first before pushing the second off target. Those moments briefly swung momentum, but Colorado punched back hard.
In a three-minute burst, the Buffaloes fired four shots in quick succession. Each time, Eme McClenahan answered. Four attempts, four saves, and Colorado’s vaunted frontline still had nothing to show for its pressure.
Then came the turning point.
With the first half winding down and the ball back in the Colorado attacking third around the 40-minute mark, a foul by Makenna Marshall on the edge of the box handed the visitors a penalty. Captain Reagan Kotschau stepped up and finally broke Iowa State’s resistance, sliding her effort just beyond McClenahan’s outstretched arm for the only goal of the night.
At the break, the numbers told a story of survival and frustration for ISU: outshot 9-3, down 1-0, but very much still alive.
Cyclones push late, Buffs hang on
Iowa State refused to fade.
The Cyclones generated five shots after halftime, slowly working their way into more dangerous positions. They still couldn’t find a way past a Colorado defense anchored by goalkeeper Brooke Goerish, who stayed sharp despite long stretches of relative quiet.
The game’s best chance from open play for ISU arrived in the 85th minute, with the match hanging in the balance.
Cassidy Corcione unleashed a thunderous strike from outside the box, a rising effort that seemed destined for the net. Goerish got just enough on it to tip the ball onto the crossbar, a fingertip intervention that preserved Colorado’s lead by inches. The rebound dropped invitingly to Sophie Forester in front of goal, but her follow-up flew wide, and with it went Iowa State’s last clear look at an equalizer.
Colorado closed it out from there, content to lean on its structure and game management to see out the final minutes.
Numbers behind the battle
Kotschau drove the Colorado attack all evening, finishing with a game-high five shots and three on frame to go with her decisive penalty. 2025 Big 12 Forward of the Year Hope Leyba added three shots, one on target, as the Buffaloes kept asking questions of the Cyclone defense.
McClenahan answered most of them, racking up six saves in a full 90-minute shift. In front of her, Maia Soulis and Danica Lunceford also went the distance, part of a unit that forced Colorado to earn every look at goal.
On the other side, Goodman, Corcione and Izzy Kapanke each registered two shots to lead Iowa State, and all three put one on target. Goerish turned away each of those efforts to secure the clean sheet.
Colorado finished with a 13-8 edge in shots and a 4-0 advantage in corner kicks. Iowa State, under pressure for long stretches, ended with more saves (6-3) and more fouls (14-11) in a match that never lacked for physical edge.
The Cyclones fall to 4-3-2 and 0-1 in Big 12 play, but after pushing a top-15 side to the brink, the question now is simple: can they turn this kind of defensive steel into points as the conference grind kicks into gear?
