No. 4 Buffs Battle to 9-7 Win Over Delaware

NEWARK, Del. — The fourth-ranked Colorado women's lacrosse team improved to 11-0 after a thrilling 9-7 victory against Delaware on Wednesday night.

Seniors Johnna Fusco and Cali Castagnola each recorded a hat-trick in the victory and senior Paige Soenksen made 13 saves to hold the Blue Hens to just seven goals, which tied their season low.

WHAT HAPPENED: The Buffs got out to a slow start, allowing the Blue Hens to score their first goal less than three minutes into the game (27:22). CU was able to respond with its first goal of the game at 18:56 when senior Katie Macleay found the back of the net after a quick pass from junior Carly Cox.

The Blue Hens did not wait long to retake the lead, scoring another marker at 18:23. But, just like UD had done, the Buffs responded with Castagnola's first of the game at 17:57. Fusco tallied her first marker at 10:27 to give CU its first lead of the contest (3-2).

The two sides exchanged goals before the end of the first half with the Blue Hens notching a goal at 7:09 and Fusco recording her second at 2:44.

Delaware was quick again to start the second half, recording two straight goals at 29:32 and 27:22 to take a 5-4 advantage.

Freshman Jen Mistretta tied the game up a short time later (25:56) with her first career goal. Sophomore Miranda Stinson scored CU's second straight goal at 15:37 to again give the Buffs a lead at 6-5.

The Blue Hens were not backing down and just like they did to start the game, they recorded another quick pair of goals (13:25, 12:16) to give them a 7-6 lead late in the game.

But the Buffs were not finished and had plenty of time to work with before the clock would expire. Castagnola evened the game at 8:33 and Fusco put the Buffs back on top at 7:23 with her third goal of the game. Castagnola recorded her hat-trick at 2:42 to wrap-up the game for the Buffs.

DEFENSE: For the third time this season, Soenksen recorded 10 or more saves. She had 19 in the 11-10 overtime win against No. 9 Northwestern and earned 16 in the 16-11 win at No. 6 Penn State.

KEY STATISTICS: Delaware out-shot the Buffs 26-22, which included 20-13 on goal. UD also had the edge in draw controls (12-6), turnovers (16-23) and caused turnovers (14-10). The Buffs converted on 2-7 free-position shots and did not allow the Blue Hens to score a goal on three opportunities. CU had 13 saves to UD's four.

GOOD COMPANY: The 11-0 start ties the sixth best start to a season in Colorado history.
Women's Basketball          15-0     1992-93 (Elite Eight)
Baseball                                14-0     1940
Men's Basketball                 14-0     1941-42 (Final Four)
Women's Basketball          12-0     1980-81 (AIAW First Round)
Women's Basketball          12-0     2011-12 (WNIT Quarterfinal)
Lacrosse                               11-0     2017 (current)
Football                                 11-0     1989 (NCG/Orange Bowl)
Women's Basketball          11-0     2012-13 (NCAA First Round)

TEAM LEADERS:

Colorado
Points: 14
Goals: 9
Assists: 5
Draw Controls: 6
Ground Balls: 15
Saves: 13

Delaware
Points: 11
Goals: 7
Assists: 4
Draw Controls: 12
Ground Balls: 20
Saves: 4

NOTABLE:

Katie Macleay has scored at least one point in every game this season.
Johnna Fusco has recorded at least one point in all nine games she has played in this season.
The 11-0 start to the season is the best in CU history, as well as the longest win streak in school history.
CU was held to just four goals in the first half, which was the lowest first half scoring total this season.
This was just the third time this season that an opponent scored the first goal of the game.
The 23 turnovers is a season-high for the Buffs.
For the first time this season, CU was held under 10 goals. The previous season low was 11, which they scored against Northwestern and UMass in the first two games of the season.
This was the seventh time in 11 games the Buffs have held a team to its season-low score. UD has recorded seven goals in three of its four losses.
This was the first meeting between the two teams.
CU is one of two unbeaten teams remaining in the NCAA Division I. Top-ranked Maryland (9-0) is the other.

UP NEXT: Colorado will face its fifth ranked opponent this season in No. 5 Stony Brook on Friday, March 31. Opening draw is set for 5 p.m. MT.

QUOTEABLE:
Head Coach Ann Elliott
"Tonight we got outplayed and we were lucky to get the win. We didn't do the little things and we didn't play smart. Credit to Delaware for how well and hard they played. On the one bright side, we made the plays we needed to down the stretch and we kept competing."

"We will see where this game takes us. If we take an honest look at ourselves and respond the right way, we will learn from it and get better. If we don't, it will be a long last few weeks of our season. Right now we have a quick turnaround and we need to start preparing. Stony Brook is a very good team that is fast, athletic and aggressive. Nothing is going to get easier for us. We need to regroup as a team and get ready for this next test. We will see down this stretch what we are made of."

EMAILS: If you are interested in receiving emails about lacrosse, sign up here: http://www.cubuffs.com/sports/2008/9/16/buffs-blast.aspx.

Next Event

Team Stats

Cali Castagnola

Johnna Fusco

Katie Macleay

Miranda Stinson

Players Mentioned

Cali Castagnola

Carly Cox

Johnna Fusco

Katie Macleay

Jen Mistretta

Paige Soenksen

Miranda Stinson

Players Mentioned

Cali Castagnola

Carly Cox

Johnna Fusco

Katie Macleay

Jen Mistretta

Paige Soenksen

Miranda Stinson