The offensive unit of the Buffaloes convene after a goal. From left to right:
Maddie Shoup, Lily Assini, Madeline Pisani (29), Kendall Havill (4), Teagan Ryan, Jenna
Morley (26), Jaimey Hill. (Tommy Bittner/CU Independent)
Win, and continue the season, that was the mentality for the game on Sunday. The University of Colorado Buffaloes women’s lacrosse team beat the University of California, Davis Aggies 15-9 capping the day off with a celebration for the program’s senior and graduate students. The Buffs improve to 7-7 on the season, with a key final game against the University of Cincinnati to determine if they will reach the inaugural Big-12 tournament this season.
With a little over six minutes left in the second quarter, graduate attacker and captain Madeline Pisani netted her fourth goal of the game. This put the Buffs ahead by 10, with a score of 11-1, starting a running clock for the game. It’s safe to say the first half performance by the Buffs was near perfection as they put up eight unanswered goals to start the game, leaving the Aggies scoreless in the first quarter.
The Buffs were fast on offense and defense, dominating in shots, ground balls and caused turnovers. It seemed like they could not be stopped in the first half and that the game would certainly be over before intended.
“Every conference game is so huge, and we knew coming into this that we’re still trying to earn our way into the conference tournament, as only the four teams make it,” head coach Ann Elliott Whidden said. “I’m proud of the way they came out, and we fought and put ourselves in a good position throughout today.”
While the Buffs pulled out the seemingly dominant win, the second quarter was much different than the first. At halftime, Whidden pulled freshman phenom Elena Oh in lieu of her graduate counterpart, Danielle Heintz. Heintz made five saves on the thirteen shots she faced and let in four free position goals in the fourth quarter. The Buffs came out with less intensity, resting on their laurels and giving up eight goals in the second half, putting a firm end to run time and making it a scrappy brawl as the minutes counted down.
The Buffs have had struggles during the second half all year, falling to top-25 ranked teams including University of Michigan, University of Florida and Denver University while leading or keeping it close in the first half.
“That’s a trend for us, and we just have to continue to focus on the 60 minutes if we want to extend the season longer,” Whidden said.
Pisani was an absolute monster on the field against the Aggies, totaling five goals, two assists and one ground ball. These marks move her up to sixth all time in CU history for games with a hat trick. Junior midfielder Maddie Shoup and sophomore attacker Teagan Ryan also put up three goals a piece, marking the second time this year that three Buffs had a hat trick in the same game. The Buffs outshot the Aggies 30-6 in the first half and 43-20 in the game.
The offensive performance was the hallmark for the Buffs, but what was most impressive was the intensity of the defense with Jess Peluso, Lily Assini, Averi Gardner, Jordan Johnson and Cooper Palm leading the way. Junior defender Peluso had seven draw controls and three ground balls. Junior and captain Assini was an all around menace with two goals, one assist, one ground ball and one caused turnover. Sophomore midfielder Gardner, who began to bloom against DU, had four draw controls, one caused turnover and one ground ball. Graduate defender Johnson and senior defender Palm each had one caused turnover and one ground ball.
Aggies goaltender Ally Richardson-Pepper had a highly impressive 20 saves against the Buffs to highlight the opposition’s performance.
CU only has one more regular season game left against Cincinnati on Saturday, April 26 at 10:00 a.m. MST. The game against the Bearcats will take place at Nippert stadium in Cincinnati. Fans can watch all CU Buffs lacrosse games on ESPN+ and can follow along live via Twitter/X @CUBuffsWLAX
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Thomas Bittner IV at thomas.bittneriv@colorado.edu
