For Colorado, Gonzaga's defense was as frustrating to face Friday as a long security line at the airport.

But the Buffs were patient.

And Kate Russell got the ball to Nikki Marshall when it counted.

With less than five minutes remaining in regulation, Marshall scored the 12th game-winning goal of her career to give CU a 1-0 victory over the Zags at Prentup Field.

Marshall, a junior from Mead, needs one more game-winning goal totie CU's all-time record in that category -- Katie Griffin had 13 from 2003 to 2006.

"Our kids were probing, probing, probing," CU coach Bill Hempen said. "And we finally got a great goal from a great player."

Colorado (6-1-1 overall, 1-0 Big 12) needed to be patient on offense against Gonzaga (4-4-0), which looked to be packing it in on defense and playing for a tie in the first day of play in the seventh annual Colorado Soccer Classic.

Although the Buffs controlled possession well, more often than not their attacks fizzled out around Gonzaga's penalty box as few good finishing chances came CU's way.

But Colorado found an opening in the 86th minute when Russell saw Marshall sliding across the top of the penalty box with only one defender on her. The freshman from Longmont delivered a sharp pass to Marshall's right. Marshall slipped around her defender with one quick move and one-touched a shot into the lower right corner of the net.

"I was like, 'Here you go. Hope you score this,' " Russell said. "At the end of the game it was a little frantic, but we put one away so it was good."

Colorado extended its win streak to six and is off to its second-best start in program history. The best start in CU history after eight games came in 2003 when the Buffs began 7-1-0.

Meanwhile, Marshall's fifth goal of the season pushed her closer to another CU record.

With 31 goals in her career, Marshall needs one more to also tie Griffin for most goals in CU history.

"We fought hard and we had a lot of opportunities," Marshall said. "The goal came just in time."

Notable

Colorado sophomore defender Kym Lowry was injured late in the second half on a hard tackle. Hempen said Lowry was hit hard just above the ankle and it looked to be a bad bruise on her lower leg, but Lowry was taken for x-rays after the game as a precaution. ... The Buffs wore pink jerseys as part of the team's "Kick for the Cure" program to raise awareness for breast cancer. The Susan G. Komen Foundation was on hand to take donations and will be on Sunday, too. ... Gonzaga's roster included six players from the state of Colorado, including keeper Kayla Jerde, a redshirt junior from Fairview. ... Denver beat Fresno State 3-2 in the first match of the day when Bria Beardsley converted a penalty kick less than four minutes into overtime.