Hope Leyba made it an exciting start to the season for the Colorado women’s soccer team.

Michigan State didn’t go away, though, and the Spartans eventually dampened the Buffaloes’ season-opening party.

In a physical battle Thursday night at Prentup Field, the Buffs struck early but No. 12 Michigan State answered shortly after halftime, leading to a 1-1 draw in both teams’ season-opener.

Afterward, CU head coach Danny Sanchez said he was pleased with a first half that saw the Buffs take the early lead while holding the Spartans without a shot on goal. However, at the outset of the second half, Michigan State dictated the pace, increased the pressure on CU goalie Jordan Nytes, and recorded the game-tying goal.

“I thought the first half we played very well. We defended well, and I don’t think we gave up a shot,” Sanchez said. “I told the team they were going to come out the first 10 or 15 minutes (of the second half) and it was going to be guns a-blazing. They were going to be high-pressure, and they were going to be on us. And we just didn’t react well. I think we were dropping in too deep and giving up too much room in the midfield.”

Leyba, CU’s leading goal-scorer a year ago, picked up where she left off right out of the gate, slicing in from the left wing in the fourth minute to launch a shot that deflected off the back of a Michigan State player. Leyba immediately pounced on the rebound and fired a shot over the head of Michigan State goalie Noelle Henning for the Buffs’ first goal of the year.

Michigan State dictated the tempo after halftime, using its early pressure on Nytes to net the tying goal from Kennedy Bell in the 51st minute. Michigan State finished with five shots on goal, 15 overall shots, and 10 corner kicks in the second half.

A diving save by Nytes with a little less than 4 minutes remaining helped preserve the draw. After Leyba’s early tally, the Buffs managed just two shots on goal the rest of the match.

“I think we knew they were going to come out super fast and hard. It’s a very good team. They came out really good, credit to them,” Nytes said. “We panicked a little bit and lost our composure there. We lost a little bit of momentum, and we were kind of just freaking out and giving the ball away, instead of keeping it and passing around them.”

Notable

Three Buffs players — Nytes, Faith Leyba and Ava Priest — were named Thursday to the preseason watch list for the Hermann Trophy as the top player in college soccer. It is the first time CU players landed on the Hermann watch list since Taylor Kornieck received three straight nominations from 2017 through 2019. CU’s three selections matched Big 12 rival TCU for the most in the nation. … Priest, who started every game last year, didn’t start Thursday and played only 10 minutes in the first half. Priest played more in the second half, finishing with 36 minutes, but Sanchez said the standout midfielder is playing through an injury. … CU still hasn’t lost a season-opener since 2003, going 16-0-6 in openers since then. … The Buffs’ six-game season-opening homestand continues Sunday against Air Force (1 p.m., ESPN+).