Colorado women’s soccer is still alive in the NCAA Tournament. 

The third-seeded Buffs routed sixth-seeded Xavier 4-1 in the second round Thursday at DeMartin Stadium in East Lansing, Mich. 

Colorado will face the Michigan State-Wake Forest winner in the Sweet 16 on Sunday. It will be CU’s third Sweet 16 and first since 2013.

“I’m so excited for this group,” Colorado coach Danny Sanchez said. “You set goals in July and early August, when you’re up in the mountains and doing team bonding, and we couldn’t be more proud of the group for their effort and performance.”

CU (16-3-3) staked a 2-0 lead thanks to first-half goals from Faith Leyba and Reagan Kotschau, who now has two game-winning goals in the tournament. The lead grew to 3-0 with a goal from Hope Leyba. The final score came from Riley McDonald.

Colorado star goalkeeper Jordan Nytes kept busy while making 12 saves, a program record for an NCAA Tournament game. The Musketeers had 13 shots on goal.

“The team just bought in today and played super awesome,” Nytes said. “I’m glad I performed well and was able to come up big for my team. That’s all that matters. I’m just proud of everybody.”

It was the first meeting between Colorado and Xavier (16-4-2). The Buffs, who entered the tournament ranked 12th nationally, already set program records for goals, assists and points in a season. Colorado has outscored two tournament opponents 6-2.