This is the Nikki Marshall that Colorado soccer fans grew to know and love last season.

After an early-season scoring slump this season that infected the whole team, the sophomore forward has scored five goals in the Buffs' last four matches, three of which were Buffalo victories.

Marshall scored two goals in a 4-0 win over Nebraska that got the Buffs rolling again. Her goal Sunday gave CU a 2-0 lead over No. 3 Texas A&M before the Aggies rallied for the victory.

"It's definitely good to have her back," CU coach Bill Hempen said. "I don't think the effort's changed. She just keeps working at it and working at it and finally some bounces are going her way."

Marshall took the Big 12 by storm with her speed last season, leading the league in goals scored and setting CU's single-season record with 17 as a freshman.

Despite the personal seven-match stretch without a goal this season, Marshall sits tied for fourth in the Big 12 with eight goals on the season.

"Extremely frustrated," Marshall said of the drought. "There's a lot of pressure around me, and I can't let that get to me. My team backed me up 100 percent and they were there for me, and we all found it together.

"Really, most of the goals I've scored, it's all in the assist."

Hempen said he could see that his star player was putting too much pressure on herself to score sometimes.

"I basically told her, 'Nikki, you don't have to score all the goals,'" Hempen said. "I think maybe she understood that and she didn't have to press as hard."

Kidd finished

Just as one of the Buffs' two seniors is finally getting back to 100 percent, another has seen her collegiate playing career end.

Forward Allison Kidd tore an anterior cruciate ligament in her knee against Texas A&M on Sunday and will miss the rest of the season. The injury comes as defender Brittany Dornseif has been gradually seeing more playing time lately as she recovers from a foot injury.

The torn ACL is the third for Kidd since she's been a Buff. The first came just before her freshman season began and the other came during the spring of her sophomore year.

Hempen was sad for his player, whom he said exemplified the work ethic he'd like to see in all of his players.

"She never was really allowed to, because of injuries, to be the player she was projected to be," Hempen said. "But when she was healthy, she gave everything she had all the time."

Bubble the fun

The CU football team isn't the only squad benefiting from the new practice bubble north of Folsom Field.

The soccer team had become known for toughing out its frigid early-morning practices as the season progressed. But with frost on Prentup Field on Tuesday morning, Hempen had the Buffs practice in the bubble on the artificial turf so as to not kill the grass on their game field.

"I always thought that was kind of a badge of honor," Hempen said of the sometimes snowy practices in late October and November. "But I got over that in about 15 seconds after I walked in here. It's nice."

Formidable foes

Hempen cautions that not too much credit should be given just for playing a difficult schedule if you're not winning some of the games. But a brief glance at this week's soccer coaches poll might make Buff fans look twice.

Three teams the Buffs have played already this fall are ranked in the top four — No. 2 Stanford, No. 3 Texas A&M and No. 4 Virginia. A trip to No. 6 Texas is on the schedule Nov. 2.

The Buffs lost close matches to Stanford and Texas A&M and were beaten 4-0 by Virginia.

CU closes out its regular-season home schedule this weekend with games against Kansas Friday at 3 p.m. and against No. 16 Missouri Sunday at 1 p.m., both at Prentup Field.

Dig for the Cure

The CU volleyball team will host its first "Dig for the Cure" at its 6:30 p.m. home match against Oklahoma on Wednesday to help raise money for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

Fans can pledge an amount per dig the Buffs record in the match or a flat amount. Pledges can be made at Coors Events Center at the match or online at www.cubuffs.com.

Coming up

The CU tennis team plays at the ITA Central Regional and the University of New Mexico Invitational this week. ... The cross country team will send a contingent to the Air Force Invitational on Saturday. ... The men's golf team plays at the Pepperdine Club Glove Intercollegiate on Monday and Tuesday. ... The volleyball team plays at Baylor on Saturday before hosting Oklahoma and Texas next week.