BOULDER, Colorado – Winless in its last two outings, the Cal women's soccer team responded on the road on Thursday afternoon, beating Colorado, 1-0-, at Prentup Field. Freshman Kailee Gifford gave the Golden Bears (9-2-1, 2-1-1 Pac-12) the lead in the 37^th minute, tallying her first collegiate goal. Cal's defense proved up to the task as well, shutting out the Buffaloes (7-3-3, 1-2-1 Pac-12) on their home turf for the Bears' sixth shutout of the season.

With the win the Golden Bears improve to 4-1-0 on the road this year, including a 2-0-0 mark away from home in Pac-12 play. The victory also snaps Cal's two-game losing streak against Colorado, avenging last season's defeat to the Buffaloes in double overtime.

Both Cal and Colorado entered Thursday's match looking to get back in the win column. Coming off a 1-0 loss to Arizona on Sunday, Cal showed its composure in the early stages of the match, controlling possession in the midfield. Sophomore striker Abi Kim had Cal's first shot off the match when she slipped in behind the Buffaloes backline, but her attempt was saved at the near post.

The Golden Bears got on the board in the 37^th minute when sophomore forward Kayla Fong picked up the ball on the left side of the pitch and slotted it across the Gifford on the weak side. Gifford, who checked into the game just seconds earlier, one-timed her shot from 12 yards out into the back of the net. This was first collegiate goal for Gifford, and the milestone was made even sweeter with the assist by Fong. The pair played club soccer together for De Anza Force, along with fellow Golden Bears Luca Deza and Emily Smith.

"Kayla just played the perfect ball right in front of me," said Gifford, "I just took a deep breath and hit it and it went in. It's been so nice having Kayla, Luca, and Emily around because we've all played together so much and have really strong connections on the field."

Trailing 1-0 at home, Colorado ramped up the offensive pressure in the second half, outshooting Cal, 10-3, over the final 45 minutes. However, Cal's defense and goalkeeper Emily Boyd stayed organized and withstood the pressure to collect their sixth shutout of the season. Boyd was extremely active in the second half, making four saves and coming off her line decisively on numerous occasions to punch away crosses and free kicks into the area.

"Colorado has some great players in the air and we knew they could score off set pieces if we gave them the opportunity," said Boyd, Cal's all-time leader with 32 career shutouts. "My teammates were busing their butts during the run of play to make sure that everyone was marked up. I knew that on set pieces, I was going to have to come up and make a big stop since my teammates had been doing their jobs so well."

Boyd ended the afternoon with five saves while Jalen Tompkins made four stops for the Buffaloes. Colorado held a 3-0 advantage in corner kicks on the day and outshot Cal, 14-7.

Cal now heads to Salt Lake City for a Sunday showdown against Utah. The Utes (5-5-2, 0-3-1 Pac-12) are coming off a 3-0 loss to Stanford on Thursday afternoon. Sunday's game will kickoff at 1 p.m. PT and will be broadcast live on Pac-12 Networks.