Colorado
What Trent Bray said after Oregon State beat Colorado State
CORVALLIS — After Oregon State beat Colorado State 39-31 in double overtime Saturday to move to 4-1 on the season, Beavers coach Trent Bray talked about the game’s wild finish and what OSU can take away from it.
Here’s a transcript of Bray’s postgame interview session with reporters, edited for brevity and clarity.
Bray: That showed me a lot. Yeah, watch the film. There’ll be lots to clean up and lots we got to do better, but the way they came on and responded is big time.
Q: To start the game with two turnovers and then for it to go to double overtime, how do you feel about the resiliency of your team through that?
Bray: Yeah, I feel great about it. And Gevani (McCoy), same thing. He shows up in those moments. When we need him to make the throws and lead the offense, he does it. That’s probably his best quality.
Q: Trent, you’ve had four games now where the fourth quarter really the game was pretty much in hand. Was this fun tonight? I’m just curious how you felt about how the way this thing went?
Bray: Right after the fourth-down stop, it was a lot of fun. But no. I mean, you’re in the moment, you aren’t recognizing it, but it’s great win, because it is our first real challenge in the fourth quarter to have to go win the game. To watch them do that was great.
Q: Defensively, in the fourth quarter you guys gave up a lot, but then in overtime, what do you think got into your defense a little bit there? Because they did pretty much shut down Colorado State there at the end.
Bray: They did. I think it’s just, we’re just in that same kind of, there’s going to be ups and downs right now with our youth and inexperience. They’re gaining a lot of it, but I think that’s probably the biggest thing. We got to get to a level where we can sustain throughout the whole game. That’s the biggest improvement we need to make on defense.
Q: Trent, that final drive to set up the Everett field goal. Looking back on it now, how big? A) Josh gray jumping on that fumble, and then B) Everett hits a big kick like that. In that moment when your guys were trailing, was there any doubt, or was there complete confidence and mindset in this team they’d go down the field and get in field-goal range?
Bray: There was no doubt for those guys. They believed, they knew they were going to do it, they went down and did it. And then, like I said on, I think Monday, I have every faith in Everett’s ability to make those kicks. And we gave him good protection, which helps the kicker a ton, and he was able to knock it through. Clutch kick.
Q: Trent, so much happened there at the end. Obviously the overtimes, the final two minutes. Just off the top of your head, your mind’s eye. What are the plays that stand out in your mind?
Bray: We had three third and longs in the touchdown drive in the fourth quarter. We get off the field there, the game’s over. That stands out in my mind. We got to get off the field in third and extra long, third and long. We can’t let teams stay in there.
Q: Is that just part of being a head coach that you only see kind of where there’s room for improvement?
Bray: Oh, absolutely, that’s just who I am anyway, yeah.
Q: You’ve been talking about it already, but just the resiliency of this team. What did they show to you tonight, and what did they sort of say about the team overall?
Bray: Yeah, I think it says a lot about their ability, again, to handle these tough moments, handle adversity. When things aren’t going great for us, they respond and with toughness and grit. And it’s a great quality to have. And so there’s going to be games, I mean every year you can point out a couple games in those tight, one- or two-point games that swing a season. And I think so. That’s why I think this win was so big to be able to pull it out.
Next game: Oregon State (4-1) at Nevada (2-4)
- When: Saturday, Oct. 12
- Time: 4:30 p.m. PT
- Where: Mackay Stadium, Reno
- TV channel: CBS Sports Network
- Stream: Fubo (free trial) or DirecTV Stream (free trial). If you already have a cable provider, use your login information to watch this game on cbssports.com.
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Q: The throw to the tight end has not been big the first four games. Was that a big part of the plan today? Or did it just sort of evolve to get it to Jermaine (Terry)? Because I think he had six or seven catches tonight.
Bray: Yeah, it evolved. And then I think, Purdue was going to be tough, because of all the man-to-man coverage they played, the defense that they played. We got a little bit more zone tonight than what we’d seen from the last couple of teams, so I think that helped the tight ends get free a little bit more. So it was an effort to involve them in the passing game, but it also was part of just what we got. They were open to that.
Q: Jam leaves the game early. How big was Gevani’s play to be able to run the ball effectively the way he did? I mean, he had three touchdowns.
Bray: Yeah. I mean, he’s really — and Coach (Ryan) Gunderson’s doing a great job of using his legs to help us move the ball to score. And then, you know, it is unfortunate what happened to Jam, but that backfield, Hankerson coming in and running extremely well. And then we got to get solid going more now, they’ll have more opportunities. So that’s the good part about it, is the depth in that room.
Q: You hadn’t thrown the ball much all night, except in the fourth quarter, when you absolutely had to, showed some ability to throw the ball. Can you build off that and continue to throw the ball, maybe more than we’ve seen so far this season?
Bray: Yeah, I think so. Again, throwing the ball and not throwing the ball, you look at how the game’s going, and we’re, I mean, what was it? Eight minutes down to score the touchdown that put us up 11? So when you can do that to a team. Again, I think Gundy does a great job of calling the game that’s happening and not trying to force things. Oh, I need to have throws, or I need to have runs. He stays within what’s working. I think he does a great job.
Q: You talked about the depth in the backfield. Any update on Jam (Griffin)?
Bray: To be determined.
Q: What stands out to you about that defensive sequence in double overtime and what do you think that can do for this defense?
Bray: Yeah, I think that that should be huge for our confidence, the ability to close the game out and pull up when we need to. I think that should be a big-time confidence for them. Because there’s a lot of ability on that side of the ball. We just got to get it more consistent for the whole game, but, but I like the way they play and they step up when it counts.
Q: It’s the second time in as many games where you’re seeing kind of Gevani be able to put the team on his back in a critical situation. Is he just a gamer? Is that just how he’s wired in those situations?
Bray: Yeah, I think he is. You look at what we were able to do to close out both halves — the first half, and then the second half and really all season we’ve scored or put ourselves in positions to score in every single game, and left no time for the other team. Yeah, he’s just a clutch player.
— Nick Daschel covers the Oregon State Beavers. Reach him at 360-607-4824 or @nickdaschel. Listen to the Beaver Banter podcast or subscribe to the Beavers Roundup newsletter.
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Colorado
Colorado faces LA in first round as Kings captain Anze Kopitar embarks on final Stanley Cup chase
DENVER — Anze Kopitar wrapped up the last regular season of his storied career. The Los Angeles Kings captain wants to prolong his final playoff run for as long as possible.
Kopitar, who announced in September his plans to retire, instantly becomes a postseason rallying point for the Kings. They have a tall task ahead of them against the Colorado Avalanche, the top team in the league, with the top goal scorer in Nathan MacKinnon and one of the best defensemen in the game in Cale Makar. Game 1 is Sunday at Ball Arena, where the Avalanche are 26-9-6.
“Playoffs,” said the 38-year-old Kopitar, a two-time Stanley Cup winner with the Kings. “I’m not going to say anything can happen, but we’ll go in and we’ll play hard and we’ll see where that takes us.”
This will be the third postseason series between the two teams and the first in 24 years. Colorado won in seven games during both the 2002 conference quarterfinals and the 2001 conference semifinals.
It’s been a record season for the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Avalanche as they amassed the most points (121) in franchise history. That broke the mark set by the 2022 team, which went on to win the Stanley Cup title. MacKinnon had a career-best 53 goals.
Goaltenders Scott Wedgewood and Mackenzie Blackwood shared the net this season and surrendered a league low in goals. They earned the William M. Jennings Trophy, which is presented to the goalies who have played a minimum of 25 games — Wedgewood suited up in 45 and Blackwood 39 — for the team with the fewest goals allowed. The other goaltender to win that honor for Colorado was Hall of Famer Patrick Roy (2001-02).
“We’re in a good spot,” Colorado forward Brock Nelson said. “The mentality of this group throughout the year, right from the start of training camp, (was) set on a mission to be the best team.”
Colorado Avalanche’s Nathan MacKinnon (29) celebrates the goal against Edmonton Oilers goalie Connor Ingram (39) during shoot-out NHL action, in Edmonton on Monday, April 13, 2026. Credit: AP/JASON FRANSON
Record against each other
The Kings went 0-3 against Colorado this season and were outscored by a 13-5 margin.
“You hear the hype. They have good players,” Kings defenseman Brandt Clarke said. “We’re a scrappy team. We keep it close with everybody. That can really frustrate them.”
Leading after two
The Avalanche were 41-0-0 when leading after two periods. They’re the first squad to have a lead after two periods on 40 or more instances and capture each one, according to team research.
“Even though we’ve been smart, we’ve been committed, we’ve been relentless at times, it’s going to have to go to a whole new level now,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. “I have faith in our guys.”
Los Angeles Kings’ Anze Kopitar, who is retiring after this season, acknowledges the crowd after being recognized after losing to the Vancouver Canucks during overtime NHL hockey action in Vancouver, on Tuesday, April 14, 2026. Credit: AP/DARRYL DYCK
Remember the season opener?
Six grueling months ago, the Avalanche and Kings opened the season against each other. The Avalanche won 4-1 in Los Angeles behind a pair of goals from Martin Necas, who would go on to register his first 100-point season (38 goals, 62 assists).
The two teams join an exclusive club by becoming the fifth pair since 2015-16 to open the regular season and the playoffs against each other, according to NHL Stats. The other pairs to do so were Montreal and Toronto (2020-21); Colorado and St. Louis (2020-21); St. Louis and Winnipeg (2018-19); and Los Angeles and San Jose (2015-16).
Of those teams that won the season opener only San Jose went on to win the series. It’s a trend Kopitar and the Kings wouldn’t mind joining.
Kopitar and the playoffs
Kopitar helped the Kings to the Stanley Cup title in 2011-12 and 2013-14 along with goaltender Jonathan Quick, who now is with the New York Rangers and recently said he’s retiring. Kopitar has played in 103 postseason games with 27 goals and 62 assists.
“The intensity ramps up, everything ramps up,” Kopitar said of the postseason. “Every mistake, every little play, magnifies now.”
Familiar faces
Kings goaltender Darcy Kuemper was in net for the Avalanche when they won the Stanley Cup in 2022. In addition, Kuemper and Drew Doughty were teammates with MacKinnon, Makar and Devon Toews when Canada won silver at the Milan Cortina Olympics.
Colorado
U.S. Women’s National Team Closes Three-Game Series Against Japan With Emphatic 3-0 Victory in Colorado
COMMERCE CITY, COLO. (April 17, 2026) – Naomi Girma, Rose Lavelle and Kennedy Wesley scored second-half goals to lead the U.S. Women’s National Team to a 3-0 victory over Japan in the third and final match of the series between the two sides.
Wesley recorded her first international goal and assist in her sixth cap to become the 27th player to score under U.S. head coach Emma Hayes. Girma scored her third international goal and Lavelle scored her 29th, marking her 10th goal contribution in her last 10 appearances.
Precision in the final third had been a key point of emphasis for Hayes heading into the match, and even though the USA did not score before the break, it showed flashes of what was to come in the second half, dominating 70% of possession and firing nine shots. The USWNT then broke through with three goals in the first 20 minutes of the second half to record its largest victory over Japan since 2017.
For the first time in this three-game series, the match went into halftime scoreless, but the Americans came close on several occasions. Off one of the USA’s four first half corner kicks, the most dangerous look came in the 21st minute from a Lavelle service that was headed around the box before defender Tierna Davidson nodded the ball down to Sophia Wilson, who had her back to goal. The forward chested down the ball and smashed a turnaround half-volley that forced a point blank save from Japanese goalkeeper Chika Hirao. Girma leaped up to get her head on the rebound, but her shot went over the crossbar.
In the 39th minute, Lavelle received the ball just past half field and played a long switch over to Alyssa Thompson on the left side. The forward beat her defender before playing a pass centrally to midfielder Claire Hutton at the top of the box. Her first-time shot from just outside the penalty box clanged off the crossbar and out for a goal kick. In one of the final plays before the half, forward Trinity Rodman cut inside the box and sent a cross in that deflected off defender Toko Koga, nearly causing an own goal before Hirao collected the ball.
As it did in the first match of the series, the USA came out hot to start the second half and scored almost immediately. On April 11, the USA scored 141 seconds into the half and tonight the goal came 155 seconds after the half began. The USA earned a corner kick after Wilson blasted a shot from outside the box that forced another leaping save from Hirao. Lavelle sent in service from the right corner that drifted towards Wesley at the back post. Wesley headed the cross back in front of goal for Girma, who redirected the ball with a powerful header into the back of the net. The goal was a combination of two center backs and former Stanford University teammates for Girma’s first goal since October of 2024.
Less than 10 minutes later, Wesley started the counterattack that led to the second goal. The defender picked off a pass in the USA’s defensive third and played captain Lindsey Heaps in the midfield. Heaps passed the ball forward to Rodman, who nutmegged her defender with a long pass, splitting two more Japanese players to send Lavelle in on a breakaway. Lavelle dribbled to the top of 18-yard box and then slotted a low shot into the bottom left corner with class to double the lead.
The squad kept the momentum rolling following substitutions just after the hour mark. A few minutes after entering the match, midfielder Jaedyn Shaw stepped up to take the USA’s sixth corner kick of the match. She sent a cross to the center of the box where Wesley leaped to hit a shot with the outside of her right foot, redirecting the ball through traffic and into the left side goal for the third of the night and the first of her USWNT career.
The USA held Japan scoreless for the first time in the series with goalkeeper Claudia Dickey making three saves to earn her eighth clean sheet in her 10th appearance.
Goal Scoring Rundown:
USA –NAOMI GIRMA (KENNEDY WESLEY),47th minute: Rose Lavelle lofted a corner kick from the right to the back post to Kennedy Wesley, who drifted under the ball and headed it back in front of the face of goal. Naomi Girma was in perfect position to redirect the cross with a forceful header into the back of the net at the center of the six-yard box. USA 1, JPN 0
USA – ROSE LAVELLE (TRINITY RODMAN), 56th minute: Kennedy Wesley intercepted a pass in the USA’s defensive third and played Lindsey Heaps near the center circle. Heaps played the ball forward to Trinity Rodman, who split two defenders with a pass up the field as Lavelle made a run inside. Lavelle dribbled toward the 18-yard box before slotting her shot to the bottom left corner of the goal. USA 2, JPN 0
USA – KENNEDY WESLEY (JAEDYN SHAW), 63rd minute: Jaedyn Shaw sent a corner kick toward the center of the box. Around eight yards out, Kennedy Wesley connected with the cross using the outside of her right foot, sending her shot through traffic into the back of the net. USA 3, JPN 0 FINAL
Additional Notes:
- Emma Hayes made 10 changes to the Starting XI from the last match against Japan on April 14 with Claire Hutton as the only player to start two games in a row. However, this Starting XI had only two changes from the Starting XI on April 11 in the first game against Japan. From the first match, Tierna Davidson replaced Kennedy Wesley on the back line and Hutton stepped in for midfielder Sam Coffey.
- With her cap today, Colorado native Lindsey Heaps tied Shannon MacMillan for 18th most caps in USWNT history with 176, making her one of only 19 women to reach the milestone. Heaps will return to her hometown to play professionally as a member of the NWSL’s Denver Summit upon the completion of her contract with OL Lyonnes in July.
- The other starter from Colorado was forward Sophia Wilson. The last time Wilson and Heaps played in Colorado was on June 1, 2024, vs. Korea Republic. The U.S. also won that match 4-0, which was also Hayes’ first match as head coach of the USWNT and the fourth-to-last match before of the 2024 Paris Olympics. Wilson hails from Windsor just an hour from Commerce City and Denver proper while Golden, a suburb of Denver, is Heaps’ hometown.
- Davidson earned the start, her first since Feb. 23, 2025, in a 2-1 win over Australia. In the WNT’s previous match on April 14, Davidson entered as a substitute in the 65th minute, her first appearance in more than one year following her recovery from an ACL injury she suffered in March of 2025. Tonight, she played the first 45 minutes before coming out on pre-planned sub.
- Center back Naomi Girma scored her third international goal – and all three have been headers. She scored her first two international goals on Oct. 30, 2024, against Argentina.
- Girma was assisted on her goal by fellow center back and Stanford Cardinal Kennedy Wesley, who replaced Davidson at halftime. Girma and Wesley played two full seasons together on the backline over three overlapping school years (2019-2022) as Girma took a redshirt season for her junior year (2020-21) due to injury. It was Wesley’s first international assist in her sixth career cap.
- Rose Lavelle’s goal in the 56th minute tonight was her 29th career goal and second goal of the week after recording one goal and an assist in the April 11 match against Japan. Lavelle now has 10 goal contributions in her last 10 matches for the USWNT.
- Lavelle was assisted by forward Trinity Rodman, who recorded her 11th international assist.
- Wesley scored her first international goal in the 64th minute. She is the 27th player to score a goal under head coach Emma Hayes. The center back ended her 45 minutes of play with two contributions, a goal and an assist, and was voted Woman of the Match.
- Jaedyn Shaw recorded her fifth career assist on Wesley’s goal with her service on a corner kick.
- Two of the three goals scored by the U.S. tonight came off corner kicks.
- The USWNT recorded its first clean sheet of the April window and its eighth shutout win in its last 10 matches.
- With the temperature at 38 degrees at kickoff and patches of snow pushed outside the edges of the pitch, it was the coldest WNT game since February 2022, which kicked off in Frisco, Texas.
- With the new FIFA substitution rules in effect (eight are now allowed in friendly matches), and Japan making use of a concussion sub, which gave the USA an extra substitution opportunity, the USA made its most ever substitutions in a single game over the 778 matches in program history with nine.
- Japan also made nine substitutions.
– U.S. WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM MATCH REPORT –
Match: United States vs. Japan
Date: April 17, 2026
Competition: International Friendly
Venue: DICK’S Sporting Goods Park, Commerce City, Colo.
Attendance: 17,589
Kickoff: 7 p.m. MT / 9 p.m. ET
Weather: 38 degrees, mostly sunny
| Scoring Summary | 1 | 2 | F |
| USA | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| JPN | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| USA — Naomi Girma (Kennedy Wesley) | 47th minute |
| USA — Rose Lavelle (Trinity Rodman) | 56 |
| USA — Kennedy Wesley (Jaedyn Shaw) | 64 |
Lineups:
USA: 1-Claudia Dickey, 23-Emily Fox, 4-Naomi Girma (5-Lilly Reale, 83), 12-Tierna Davidson (25-Kennedy Wesley, 46), 22-Gisele Thompson (3-Avery Patterson, 62), 10-Lindsey Heaps (Capt.) (17-Sam Coffey, 63), 15-Claire Hutton (7-Lily Yohannes, 82), 16-Rose Lavelle (13-Olivia Moultrie, 73), 2-Trinity Rodman (20-Michelle Cooper, 73), 11-Sophia Wilson (9-Ally Sentnor, 73), 21-Alyssa Thompson (8-Jaedyn Shaw, 63)
Substitutes not used: 6-Emily Sams, 19-Emma Sears, 24-Phallon Tullis-Joyce
Not dressing: 14-Emily Sonnett, 18-Jane Campbell
Head Coach: Emma Hayes
JPN: 12-Chika Hirao, 2- Risa Shimizu (24-Maya Hijikata, 74), 6-Toko Koga (3-Moeka Minami, 60), 4-Saki Kumagai, 13-Hikaru Kitagawa (21-Miyabi Moriya, 25), 19-Momoko Tanikawa (20-Manaka Matsukubo, 46), 16-Yuzuki Yamamoto (17-Maika Hamano, 46), 14-Yui Hasegawa (Capt.) (10-Fuka Nagano, 74), 15-Aoba Fujino (22-Remina Chiba, 74), 9-Riko Ueki (11-Mina Tanaka, 46), 7-Hinata Miyazawa (18-Honoka Hayashi, 60)
Substitutes not used: 23-Akane Okuma, 1-Ayaka Yamashita
Head Coach: Michihisa Kano
Stats Summary: USA / JPN
Shots: 15 / 5
Shots on Goal: 7 / 3
Saves: 3 / 4
Corner Kicks: 6 / 2
Fouls: 7 / 5
Offside: 0 / 2
Misconduct Summary:
None
Officials:
Ref: Myriam Marcotte (CAN)
AR1: Mijensa Rensch (SUR)
AR2: Stephanie Yee Sing (JAM)
4TH: Carly Shaw-Maclaren (CAN)
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