Games thread - LACROSSE opens conference play visiting San Diego State (Sat., 3/29/25, 2:00 PM MT) and ASU (Sun., 4/6, 1:00 PM MT)

[AztecBuff]

Over the next 2 weekends lacrosse (4-5) opens up conference play with trips to California and Arizona. 1st off this Saturday afternoon, they head out to the beach to face the San Diego State Aztecs (5-5, 0-1 in Big 12 play). Then, NEXT Sunday (4/6) afternoon they meet the Arizona State Sun Devils (7-4).

Within the last week or so, the NCAA started releasing RPI ratings for the current season (https://www.ncaa.com/rankings/lacrosse-women/d1/ncaa-womens-lacrosse-rpi). As of the latest ratings (through games played 3/25), CU is at #27 while SDSU is #72 and ASU is #31.

Re video broadcasts, it looks like the SDSU game may be available on their Youtube channel, while I assume will be the case for most if the other conference games, video coverage for the ASU game is available for those who have a premium ($) ESPN+ subscription. (More info and links available near the bottom of this post.)

Go Buffs!!!
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Links with more more info on the upcoming opponents:

SDSU :
Roster - https://goaztecs.com/sports/womens-lacrosse/roster
Stats - https://goaztecs.com/sports/womens-lacrosse/stats
Schedule - https://goaztecs.com/sports/womens-lacrosse/schedule
Their preview article - Not available as I type this.

ASU :
Roster - https://thesundevils.com/sports/womens-lacrosse/roster
Stats - https://thesundevils.com/sports/womens-lacrosse/stats
Schedule - https://thesundevils.com/sports/womens-lacrosse/schedule
Their preview article - Not available as I type this.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Media links:

Live video: Both of the home games are scheduled to be streamed through the premium ($) ESPN+ subscription service, available either on the ESPN app or at:
Vs. SDSU - https://www.youtube.com/@SDSUAztecLacrosse/streams
Vs. ASU -

Link to link to live stats (All games) - http://www.statbroadcast.com/events/statmonitr.php?gid=colo
For specific games (If blank, not available as I type this.):
Vs. SDSU - https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=579790
Vs. ASU - https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=579205&vislive=colo

Game notes: (Note- Left empty for games that don't have any as I type this.)
Vs. SDSU - https://cubuffs.com/documents/2025/3/26/LAX_2025-03-29_Game_Notes.pdf
Vs. ASU -

 

[AztecBuff]

Preview for the SDSU game - https://cubuffs.com/news/2025/3/26/lacrosse-buffs-ready-for-big-12-opener-against-aztecs

"

Lacrosse Buffs Ready for Big 12 Opener Against Aztecs​

Colorado is 6-5 in conference openers and 26-7 against current Big 12 teams

By: Malala Pyle, Assistant Director of Athletic Communication

BOULDER – The Colorado lacrosse team (4-5, 0-0 Big 12) begins Big 12 play on the road this week against San Diego State (5-5, 0-1 Big 12) on Saturday, Mar. 29. The Buffs' game against the Aztecs will be at Aztec Field at 2 p.m. MT.

The Buffs were conference foes in the Pac-12 with the Aztecs and now face them for the 11th time in program history. Both teams are looking for their first win in the inaugural season of Big 12 Lacrosse. This is just the third unranked opponent for CU, now 27th in the NCAA RPI. Colorado last faced San Diego State last season, a year ago minus one day, beating the Aztecs 17-8 at home (Mar. 30, 2024). The Buffs are 10-0 all-time against the Aztecs and look to extend the win streak to 11.
...

THIS WEEK
GAME #10 • Saturday, March 29 • 2 p.m. MT
Colorado (4-5, 0-0 Big 12) vs. San Diego State (5-5, 0-1 Big 12)
Aztec Field • San Diego, Calif.
SERIES RECORD: 10-0, CU Leads
LAST MEETING: W, 17-8 (March 30, 2024 • Boulder, Colo.)
STREAK: Won 10 • LAST 10 MEETINGS: 10-0
TV: SDSU Live Stream/ESPN+
OPPONENT WEBSITE: GoAztecs.com
...

ROAM WITH THE BUFFS: The Buffs' game against the Aztecs will be broadcast on the SDSU live stream/ESPN+. Fans can also follow the Colorado game through live stats with links available at CUBuffs.com.

BIG 12 HORIZONS: After stints in the Pac-12 and MPSF, Colorado is now competing in the Big 12 Conference in its inaugural season of lacrosse. The conference consists of three Big 12 teams (CU, Cincinnati, Arizona State) and three affiliates (UC Davis, San Diego State, Florida). The Buffs are 64-26 (.711) in conference play going into the 2025 lacrosse season. Colorado will also play host to the first-ever Big 12 Lacrosse Championship. In preparation for the tournament, the Buffs moved to Prentup Field for all home contests after 11 seasons of competition at Kittredge Field.
...

WEST COAST, BEST COAST: Of the 32 CU lacrosse athletes on the squad, only four are from the West Coast, three from the Golden State and one from the Evergreen State. Kendall Havill is from Bainbridge Island, Wash.; while Briley Volpp is from Encinitas, Calif., and the Brower sisters are from Danville, Calif.

For more information on the Colorado women's lacrosse team, a complete schedule and results, please visit CUBuffs.com. Fans of the Buffs can follow the team on Instagram and on Twitter @CUBuffsWLax.
"
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And, looking back to last week, BIG congrats once again to frosh goalie Elena Oh for being named the Big 12's Goalie of the Week for the FOURTH straight week. (Wonder if ANY Buff in any sport has won that many conference player of the week honors in any sport?)




Article - https://cubuffs.com/news/2025/3/25/...raight-big-12-lacrosse-goalkeeper-of-the-week

"

Elena Oh Picked for Fourth-Straight Big 12 Lacrosse Goalkeeper of the Week​

Oh becomes the only Colorado Lacrosse player to win a weekly award four consecutive times

By: Malala Pyle, Assistant Director of Athletic Communication

BOULDER – Colorado lacrosse's freshman goalkeeper Elena Oh (Chapel Hill, N.C./East Chapel Hill HS) was named Big 12 Goalkeeper of the Week for the fourth week in a row, the Conference announced Tuesday, Mar. 18.

This is the sixth weekly honor for the Buffs this season, and Oh becomes the first player in CU Lacrosse history to receive four weekly awards in four weeks. The only other Colorado player to reach three weekly honors in a row was Darby Kiernan, who was Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week three weeks in a row in 2018 (April 9, April 16, April 23) and five times that season. The only other players to receive weekly awards three or more times in a season are Johnna Fusco for MPSF Rookie of the Week (2014; Feb. 17, March 24, April 28), Paige Soenksen for MPSF Defensive Player of the Week (2015; March 23, April 7, April 23, April 27), and Miranda Stinson for Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week (2019; Feb. 18, March 11, March 18).

Oh continues to be a force in goal for Colorado, this time against then-No. 18 Stony Brook. In the Buffs' upset win over the Seawolves, Oh had eight saves – with four in the first quarter alone. While she only had three saves against Dartmouth, she managed the 11 total saves with a .393 save percentage, facing 28 shots on goal on the week overall. Oh currently leads the Big 12 in goals against average with 9.03, and she is second in the Conference for save percentage .464 (52 saves). She is also fourth in conference for saves per game (7.43). Her numbers for goals against average put her at 11th in the NCAA, and she is 36th for save percentage.
...
"

 

[AztecBuff]

Game day, with the opening draw less than 3 hours away in San Diego!

 

[AztecBuff]

The game should be starting within the next few minutes. Buff starters are

 

[AztecBuff]

After SDSU scored the 1st 2 goals of the match, it was mostly CU thereafter and they take a 12-5 lead going into halftime.

 

[AztecBuff]

It's an even 3rd quarter, so the Buffs take a 14-7 lead into the final quarter. (SDSU substituted their goalie midway through the 2nd quarter, and she has 10 saves while allowing only 5 goals since she's come in.)

 

[AztecBuff]

The Buffs get the conference opener by a 16-12 score! (After the Buffs had it on the verge of a running clock after having the ball with a 9 goal lead and as little as 9 minutes left in the game, SDSU actually got into it scoring the last 5 goals, including 4 in ~3-1/2 minutes midway through the quarter, but CU's lead was big enough to hold.)

Way to go Buffs!

 

[AztecBuff]

Article after today's win - https://cubuffs.com/news/2025/3/29/...ffs-to-first-big-12-victory-over-aztecs-16-12

"

Pisani, Assini Lead Lacrosse Buffs to First Big 12 Victory Over Aztecs, 16-12​

Both athletes either obtained or matched career-highs in the game against SDSU

By: Malala Pyle, Assistant Director of Athletic Communication

SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The Colorado lacrosse team (5-5, 1-0 Big 12) opened conference play with a win over San Diego State (5-6, 0-1 Big 12), 16-12, at Aztec Field in San Diego, Calif., on Saturday, Mar. 29.

Graduate attacker Madeline Pisani put on a show against the Aztecs, matching her career-highs in both goals and points with seven and nine, respectively. CU ran away with it in the first half after midfielder Lily Assini set the tone with a speedy goal in the first quarter and set her career-high in goals (4) and points (5) by the end of the game. Colorado is now 7-5 (.583) all-time in conference openers and 65-26 (.714) in conference play.

"Glad to get the win today – every win in conference is huge," head coach Ann Elliott Whidden said. This is a new season for us, and we've come out and started strong. There's a lot for us to build off of and learn from. We have to know every team we play in conference is going to compete for 60 minutes, and we have to find a better way to compete ourselves for 60 minutes. We were undisciplined today in many aspects, and it caught up to us – we have to do better and demand better of ourselves. I'm proud of us for finishing the game out, but we will take a look at the whole game and see what positives we can take from it and what areas we need to learn from."

The Buffs had 29 shots on goal to the Aztecs 19 and won in the draw circle, 20-12. CU also had a good day on the arc, netting four of six free position shots.


KEY PLAYERS:

• Gr. A Madeline Pisani matched two career-highs and set season-highs with seven goals and nine points against the Aztecs. This is her second game with seven goals, the last coming against Oregon last season (April 26, 2024). The last time she had nine points was against UC Davis in the Pac-12 Tournament last season (May 1, 2024). This marks her 18th hat trick of her career – fourth of this season – and she is now sixth all-time for career hat tricks at CU. She also had two assists and one ground ball.
• Jr. M Lily Assini recorded her career-high in both goals and points against SDSU with four and five, respectively. This is her first-ever hat trick, and she picked up four groundballs, caused two turnovers and managed a draw control.
• Jr. D Jess Peluso had a career-high 12 draw controls and picked up a ground ball.
• Gr. A Kendall Havill inched ever closer to her career milestone, ending the game just one point shy of 200, as she collected two goals for the Buffs.
• Jr. M Molly Reed picked up one ground ball, caused one turnover and managed one draw control
• Jr. M Maddie Shoup had one goal, one assist and one ground ball.
• So. M Averi Gardner caused a turnover and had five draw controls.
• So. A Bella Reece had her first goal of her career.
• Fr. GK Elena Oh had seven saves, a save percentage of .368 and one ground ball.
• Sr. D Katie McLean had three ground balls and one draw control.
• Jr. D Mary Carson had one groundball and caused one turnover, So. D Lola Flynn had a ground ball and Fr. M Amelia Byerly caused one turnover.
• So. A Jaimey Hill had one goal, one assist and one ground ball for the Buffs.
• For San Diego State, Sara Toner had a hat trick and Grace Moore had 11 saves.

...

UP NEXT:

• Big 12 competition continues on the road for the Buffs with the Sun Devils in Tempe, Ariz., next week. Colorado will go head-to-head with former Pac-12 foe ASU on Sunday, April 6, at Sun Devil Soccer/Lacrosse Stadium. Opening draw against the Devils is set for 1 p.m. MT. Fans can watch the game on ESPN+ and can follow along via Twitter @CUBuffsWLAX.

MATCH NOTES:

• CU moves to 127-72 (.638) all-time and 1-2 in road games this season.
• The Buffs are now 27-7 (.794) all-time against Big 12 opponents (including games prior to being in the conference together).
• Colorado is 7-5 (.583) in conference openers and 65-26 (.714) in conference play.
• Madeline Pisani is now sixth all-time for career hat tricks at CU with 18.

For more information on the Colorado women's lacrosse team, a complete schedule and results, please visit CUBuffs.com. Fans of the Buffs can follow the team on Instagram and Twitter @CUBuffsWLax.
"
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Box score - https://cubuffs.com/sports/womens-lacrosse/stats/2025/san-diego-state/boxscore/17335

 

[Bmixer]

big game against ASU. Still need to learn to play a full 40. This game should have been a blow out but they game up 5 goals in the 4th quarter.

 

[AztecBuff]

big game against ASU. Still need to learn to play a full 40. This game should have been a blow out but they game up 5 goals in the 4th quarter.

Get your point, but just wanted to clarify that they need to play a full 60 (playing hard and smart only 40 minutes in a game has sometimes been their problem).

 

[AztecBuff]

Congrats to Ms's. Pisani and Peluso!

 

[Bmixer]

nice win today vs ASU. 2 big games coming up with Florida in Boulder and DU. Would be great to get 2 wins over those two teams. CU is up to 22 in RPI

 

[AztecBuff]

Media after yesterday's BIG win against the Sun Devils, who I'd GUESS will be most likely to be competing with the Buffs and Gators for finishing top 2 in the Big 12.
(Of course the win is ALWAYS the main thing, and Coach Elliott Whidden has mentioned it MANY times including the below quoted article, but did also want to note yesterday did continue the trend of relatively tough 2nd halfs for the Buffs as they had a 4 point lead at halftime and ended up winning by only 1 after scoring only 3 in the 2nd vs. 11 in the 1st. Per the latest available stats (https://cubuffs.com/documents/2025/2/17/Season_Stats_Lax.pdf) and adding yesterday's game, the Buffs so far this season are +23 in 1st half goal scoring and -30 in the 2nd. I did QUICKLY look back as past years' stats, and the last time the Buffs had a (slightly) better goal differential in the 2nd half was the 2021 season, with the last 3 seasons (including this one) ALL having pretty big differentials favoring the 1st half.)

Article (Congrats to grad transfer Ms. Havill!) - https://cubuffs.com/news/2025/4/6/havill-records-200th-point-lacrosse-buffs-singe-sun-devils

"

Havill Records 200th Point, Lacrosse Buffs Singe Sun Devils​

Three athletes recorded hat tricks in Colorado’s second win in conference

By: Malala Pyle, Assistant Director of Athletic Communications

TEMPE, Ariz. – The Colorado lacrosse team (6-5, 2-0 Big 12) defeated Arizona State (8-6, 1-1), 14-13, at Sun Devil Soccer/Lacrosse Stadium on Sunday, April 6.

In a tight battle with the Sun Devils, the Buffs had a strong start in their second conference matchup, taking a 5-1 lead early in the first quarter. Graduate transfer attacker Kendall Havill recorded her 200th point – combining her points at Colorado College and CU -- in the first quarter and her first hat trick for Colorado in the first half. Much of the second half was stop and go, but the Sun Devils closed the gap. Though ASU clawed back, a clutch save from freshman goalkeeper Elena Oh kept Colorado from overtime, and the Buffs took it, 14-13.

"Big conference win for us. I have so much respect for Arizona State, and they battled today," head coach Ann Elliott Whidden said. "We knew going into the game this would be a 60-minute game, and it was. It was not our best second half, and I take responsibility for that down the stretch – I have to do a better job preparing them for those moments. But I am so proud of our ability to keep believing in ourselves and make those last couple of plays."

The Buffs out-shot the Sun Devils, 35-21, and recorded the same number of ground balls with 17. CU also caused twice as many turnovers as ASU (8-4).


KEY PLAYERS:

• Whidden on the athletes: "We had a lot of different people step up today, which was great to see. We had a lot of different people make little plays that aren't on the stat sheet. I'm proud of our effort there, and that will continue to be a focus for us."
• With her first goal of the game, 11th of the season, Gr. A Kendall Havill reached 200 career points in the Buffs' game against the Sun Devils. She reached four goals on the day for her first hat trick at Colorado, and she had one ground ball.
• Jr. M Maddie Shoup reached three goals for her sixth hat trick of her career, fourth this season. She also had two assists, totaling five points on the day.
• So. A Teagan Ryan recorded three goals for her third hat trick of both her season and her career. She also had one assist, three ground balls and a caused turnover.
• Gr. A Madeline Pisani scored one goal and assisted three goals for the Buffs. She also recorded one caused turnover and two ground balls.
• Jr. M Lily Assini had one goal and one assist, as well as three draw controls, one caused turnover and one ground ball.
• Jr. M Molly Reed had five draw controls and caused two turnovers.
• Jr. D Jess Peluso reached two draw controls, one ground ball and one caused turnover.
• Jr. D Mack Hanlon had one caused turnover and two ground balls.
• So. M Averi Gardner had one ground ball and three draw controls.
• Sr. D Katie McLean had two ground balls and one caused turnover.
• So. A Jaimey Hill scored two goals and picked up two ground balls.
• For Arizona State, Teagan Ng had five goals and Anna Viglione had 11 draw controls.

...

UP NEXT:

• The Buffs open Big 12 play at home next weekend with No. 5 Florida on Saturday, April 12, at Prentup Field. Opening draw against the Gators is set for 11 a.m. MT. Fans can watch the game on ESPN+ and can follow along via Twitter @CUBuffsWLAX.
• Whidden on playing Florida: "We have a big weekend at home and a great opportunity against a top Florida team. We will learn from this game and take those lessons into our next game. Hopefully we can get a great crowd out to Prentup on Saturday for our Big 12 home opener!"

MATCH NOTES:

• CU moves to 128-72 (.640) all-time and 2-2 in road games this season.
• The Buffs are now 28-7 (.800) all-time against Big 12 opponents (including games prior to being in the conference together).
• Colorado is all-time 66-26 (.717) in conference play.
• This marks the first time since playing Oregon last season (April 26, 2024) that the Buffs have recorded three players with three or more goals (Havill, Ryan, Shoup).

...
"
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Box score - https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=579205&vislive=colo