For openers, the Big 12 Conference has been tough on the Colorado soccer team over the years.

Despite the fact that the Buffs had dominated Texas Tech over the years, Friday was no exception.

Under the direction of first-year coach Tom Stone, the Red Raiders walked away from Prentup Field with a 1-0 victory over CU, just their second triumph ever over the Buffs and their first in Boulder.

The Buffs had owned a 9-1-1 record against the Red Raiders entering the match and hadn't allowed the visitors from Lubbock to score in four years. Still, they said they didn't take Tech lightly.

"I told our kids at halftime, 'That team is our team seven years ago,'" CU coach Bill Hempen said. "(They) weren't talented individually but they played with a great deal more urgency than our kids did and that is my fault. And I promise that will never happen again to this team. They kicked our butts. They deserved to win."

Texas Tech (3-3-1) mustered just two shots on goal all game against a stout CU defense that has posted five shutouts on the season. But Zhaleh Rezaie pooched a free kick from 25 yards out into the box andMaegan Wilber rushed in to boot it past CU goalie Kirstin Radlinski, who relieved starter Kara Linder in the second half.

The Buffs were shut out for the fifth time this season and fell to 3-9 all-time in Big 12 openers, including 2-5 under Hempen. But despite playing their fourth match in eight days, CU (4-3-3) made no excuses.

CU had ended a four-match scoreless streak with victories over Drake and Wyoming in recent days and seemed to be moving back in the right direction heading into conference play.

"It's not the way we pictured starting the conference off," CU junior forward Nikki Keller said. "There's no excuse. We've had three games in a row, but we were ready for this game. We just didn't come out the way we had prepared for it.

"When it comes down to it, the Big 12 is going to be the hardest conference no matter who you play, and we need to have the mind-set in every game we play from here on out."

The Buffs controlled possession for much of the first half but managed just one shot on goal before the break and four in all. Although leading scorer Nikki Marshall got a few chances, the Red Raiders had someone in her face on every one. The Buffs' final chance, a shot by Gianna DeSaverio from 12 yards out, sailed wide right.

Texas Tech, meanwhile, seemed to get stronger as the match went on.

"A little-known fact is that Lubbock sits at 3,400 feet," said Stone, who played at Duke when Hempen was an assistant for the men's team there. "So coming here isn't a big adjustment for us."

The Red Raiders were picked by the coaches in the preseason to finish 10th in the Big 12.

"The nice thing about this game is they got a result to show for how hard they've been working," Stone said. ""We dodged a few bullets, got away from (Marshall) a few times and escaped, and then made the most of a set piece."

For the Buffs, who host Nebraska on Oct. 5, the scoring woes of past weeks crept back into their minds once again. CU came up empty on six corner kicks.

"We've consistently had a problem finishing and they just outworked us today," Keller said.