Junior soccer player Nikki Marshall helped the U.S. win the women鈥檚 under-20 World Cup title in December. The Americans defeated defending champion North Korea 2-1 in the final in Santiago, Chile. With Marshall playing every minute on defense 鈥� she鈥檚 normally a forward for the Buffs 鈥� the U.S. gave up a tournament-low three goals during the six games.
鈥淪tanding up on the podium after the game was surreal, a feeling I have never felt before,鈥� Marshall wrote on a cubuffs.com blog. 鈥淪urprisingly (ha ha) I could not control my emotion and I had tears of joy in my eyes. We sacrificed so much to be here and it all became worth it when that gold medal was placed around us.鈥�
Minus Marshall, the Buffs were ousted in the first round of the NCAA tournament, ending their season with a
1-0 loss to South Dakota State.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just a difficult loss to swallow with everything we have done leading up to this point,鈥� coach Bill Hempen says.
The Buffs, who earned an NCAA berth for the sixth straight year, finished with a 14-5-4 record, winning 14 games for just the third time in program history.
CU senior Michelle Wenino was named Big 12 Co-Defensive Player of the Year and to the all-conference first team for the second straight year. Marshall, the all-time scoring leader for CU, joined Wenino on the first team, earning the honor for the third consecutive year.
