Colorado junior midfielder Maddie Shoup sets a stationary screen for teammate
sophomore attacker Bella Reece in front of two Gator defenders on Saturday, April 12, 2025 at Prentup Field. (Tommy Bittner/CU Independent)
The University of Colorado Buffaloes women’s lacrosse team held on strong against the No. 4-ranked University of Florida Gators, but ultimately fell, in large part due to seven goals by Florida in the third quarter. The Saturday morning game at Prentup Field ended with a score of 10-15, moving the Buffs to 6-6 for the year and 0-3 against top-5 opponents this season.
After opening 2-0 to start Big 12 play on the road, the Buffs were met by an all-around powerhouse in the Gators, who sit atop the conference.
“[Florida is] a good team in every position, every player on the field – in some ways, maybe that caught up to us,” said head coach Ann Elliott Whidden. “We were in a position to make some plays, and we didn’t make them. We have to find the balance on defense. I don’t think this is the first game where we have a quarter where we give up seven goals or more.”
The first half for the Buffs was extremely impressive, as they jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first quarter thanks to Lily Assini, Teagan Ryan and Kendall Havill, who all had goals. Havill would continue to explode into the second quarter as two more goals gave her the first half hat trick, the 29th in her career and second in a row this season.
While it was a stunning performance against one of the top teams in the country, Florida’s prowess was evident as they nearly matched the Buffs in scoring, bringing it to 7-6 before the half. Florida’s aggressive defensive play led to multiple CU turnovers, totalling 17 before the final horn sounded.
The pressure was intensified in the second half, where the Buffs succumbed to numerous mental errors, including risky clears and poor passing on offense, leading to a 9-3 goal routing for Florida in the second half. The Buffs were held scoreless in the fourth quarter, sealing the game.
Looking on the positive side of the game, the typical defensive and offensive stars showed out for the Buffaloes. Freshman goalie Elena Oh received her fifth consecutive weekly honor from the Big 12 conference. While the previous four were for goaltender of the week, this award was for freshman of the week. Captain Lily Assini recorded her 100th career draw control with six on the day, and alongside phenom defensive player Jess Peluso, the Buffs beat the Gators in the face off circle 19-10.
Graduate attacker Havill reached 200 career points in the Buffs’ last game against Arizona State University with a four-goal hat trick. She did the same against the Gators with a goal in the third quarter, putting her at four for the day. Havill spent the previous four years playing for the Colorado College Tigers, totaling 190 points in her time there.
“I gotta give a lot of credit to my teammates, I feel like almost all my goals here have been assisted,” she said. “So I think learning how to play as a team and each other’s tendencies are able to help us find a better groove in these last two games … alongside extra shooting, practice with the coaches, all in one.”
The Buffs will continue their regular season campaign against non-conference and in-state rival Denver University on Thursday at Prentup Field, starting at 3 p.m. MST. CU will also host their Big 12, home and season finale against UC Davis for senior day on April 20 at Prentup Field starting at 12 p.m. MST. Fans can watch the last two games of the regular season on ESPN+ and can follow along live via the team’s Twitter @CUBuffsWLAX.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Thomas Bittner IV at thomas.bittneriv@colorado.edu
