Cliff Grassmick CU's Laura Munnelly, left, and Colorado College's Lisa Balsama leap for a header in the Buff's victory Sunday. PHOTO GALLERY »

Colorado wins exhibition game at Prentup Field

By Chris Shelton, Camera Sports Writer
August 22, 2005

Soft, freshly cut grass. A light breeze coming down from the Flatirons and off Boulder Creek. The bleachers overflowing with sun-drenched fans. Lots of shots on goal.

It wasn't Colorado's best soccer game Sunday, but the setting was.

The women's soccer team opened its first-ever full season at Prentup Field with a 1-0 exhibition game victory over Colorado College.

"The atmosphere is great," said Buff senior Ashlie Mihalcin, who assisted on CU's lone goal. "It's the best field I've played on in my entire life. We're all pretty lucky to play here."

With a crowd of about 650, the Buffs played the second soccer match in CU history at Prentup Field, which has been converted from a baseball field to a soccer pitch. The Buffs played their last home game of last season at Prentup.

Colorado fired off 26 shots, half which were on goal, but only found the back of the net once.

The Buffs moved the ball quickly up field and Mihalcin threaded the CC defense with a through ball that found Nikki Keller making a run across the middle.

Keller finished the play for a goal in the 13th minute.

"It was a great build up all the way through the midfield," CU coach Bill Hempen said. "The one-touch passing created the space that we were able to attack."

On CU's missed scoring opportunities, Hempen said, "We obviously have to work on our time in front of the goal. We need to spend a little more time there this week so we can finish some of the chances we created."

The exhibition match left the Buffs feeling good about the way they controlled the ball and built up attacks.

The defense was rarely tested. Keeper Jessica Keller had to make two saves in the first half, but Kirstin Radlinski enjoyed a quiet second half in goal without having to make a save.

Senior forward Kat Grandinetti and junior forward Katie Griffin made several nice runs to set up shots for themselves or others.

Nikki Keller, a freshman out of Ralston Valley High School, led the team with four shots on goal.

"Very frustrating," she said of the team's inability to convert scoring chances. "But it's good to have the first game out of the way. Now we know what we need to work on."

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