Jordan Nytes is helping to keep the Colorado women’s soccer team in the Big 12 Conference race. And she’s picking up plenty of hardware along the way.
On Wednesday, Nytes again was named the Big 12 Goalkeeper of the Week after stopping 11 of 12 shots in a pair of draws earned by the Buffaloes last week. It is the fourth time this season Nytes has earned the weekly Big 12 honor and the sixth time in her career, including a pair she won as a freshman at Oklahoma State.
It is the eighth weekly honor overall in Nytes’ career, counting two she won last year in the Pac-12.
Nytes recorded seven saves in a critical road draw last week at nationally-ranked Texas Tech, then added four more during a scoreless draw at home against Central Florida.
Nytes ranks third in the Big 12 with an .853 save percentage and owns nine shutouts, tying for the third-most in a season in team history. With Nytes leading the defense, and despite surrendering six goals in a loss against TCU, CU is tied for third in the Big 12 with a goals-against average of .867.
The penultimate weekend of the regular season is shaping up to be a critical one, with the fourth-place Buffs (10-2-3, 4-1-3 Big 12) trailing co-leaders TCU and Texas Tech (both 6-0-2 Big 12) as well as third-place West Virginia (6-1-1 Big 12) going into a Thursday night match at Cincinnati (5 p.m. MT, ESPN+).
West Virginia hosts Texas Tech on Thursday before hosting the Buffs on Sunday (11 a.m. MT, ESPN+). The top four seeds get byes in the 12-team bracket at the Big 12 tournament, and the Buffs go into the weekend at No. 45 in the RPI.
“We’re right on the bubble with a lot of other teams,” CU head coach Danny Sanchez said in a release. “I think the league is maybe undervalued a little bit because we don’t have that top 10 RPI, but you have a ton of teams between 20 and 50. I think everybody’s got a lot to play for. Obviously, Cincinnati wants to get to the Big 12 tournament, and I think they will at the end of the day, but I think for us, if we keep winning down the stretch, we’ll secure that top-four seed and a bye.
“Having that kind of second season takes some pressure off these last matches. But, you know, we need to get results. We need to get a result Thursday and then obviously at West Virginia on Sunday.”
