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Photo by: Stanford Photo
No. 21 Colorado Lacrosse Falls to No. 15 Stanford in Season Opener
February 13, 2025 | Lacrosse
PALO ALTO, Calif. – The 21st-ranked Colorado lacrosse team (0-1, 0-0 Big 12) fell to the Stanford Cardinal (2-0, 0-0 ACC), 15-10, at Maloney Field on Thursday.
The Buffs came out of the gate with fire, stunning the Cardinal in the first half and leaving them scoreless in the first quarter. After going into the locker room down by three, Stanford made a statement in the second half scoring four unanswered in the third quarter. Struggles to gain possession on the draw in the fourth quarter saw more Cardinal goals and, ultimately, their victory.
"Tough game for us," head coach Ann Elliott Whidden said. "We had a strong start and just did not play our best lacrosse in the second half. No excuses on our end -- we need to do better in every aspect of the second half, and we could not find a way. This needs to be a learning experience for us. We have a ton in front of us. This team needs to find a way to learn from this game and take those lessons with us moving forward."
Graduate attacker Madeline Pisani and sophomore attacker Teagan Ryan each recorded a hat trick in the season road opener. The Buffs still managed a productive first half, outshooting the Cardinal 15-9 and picking up 13 ground balls to Stanford's seven.
KEY PLAYERS:
HOW IT HAPPENED:
UP NEXT:
MATCH NOTES:
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.
The Buffs came out of the gate with fire, stunning the Cardinal in the first half and leaving them scoreless in the first quarter. After going into the locker room down by three, Stanford made a statement in the second half scoring four unanswered in the third quarter. Struggles to gain possession on the draw in the fourth quarter saw more Cardinal goals and, ultimately, their victory.
"Tough game for us," head coach Ann Elliott Whidden said. "We had a strong start and just did not play our best lacrosse in the second half. No excuses on our end -- we need to do better in every aspect of the second half, and we could not find a way. This needs to be a learning experience for us. We have a ton in front of us. This team needs to find a way to learn from this game and take those lessons with us moving forward."
Graduate attacker Madeline Pisani and sophomore attacker Teagan Ryan each recorded a hat trick in the season road opener. The Buffs still managed a productive first half, outshooting the Cardinal 15-9 and picking up 13 ground balls to Stanford's seven.
KEY PLAYERS:
- Gr. Attacker Madeline Pisani led scoring for the Buffs with four goals on six shots. This is Pisani's 15th hat trick of her career and the 11th game in her career with four or more goals.
- After notching just one goal in the 2024 season, So. Attacker Teagan Ryan recorded her first career hat trick against the Cardinal, with all three goals coming in the first half. She also picked up two ground balls.
- So. Attacker Jaimey Hill had the first goal of the season for both her and the Buffs, finishing the day with two goals.
- Gr. Attacker Morgan Pence managed two points in her post-injury debut, with one assist in the first quarter and a goal in the second.
- Jr. Midfielder Lily Assini had two assists for the Buffs, helping Hill on her first goal of the day and Ryan on her second. She also had two draw controls and a ground ball.
- Gr. Goalie Danielle Heintz had four saves and three ground balls.
- Gr. Defender Jordan Johnson led the team in ground balls, picking up five. She also caused two turnovers.
- Jr. Defender Jess Peluso had three ground balls, three draw controls and caused one turnover.
- Sr. Defender Katie McLean had two draw controls and one caused turnover, and So. Midfielder Averi Gardner had a ground ball and a caused turnover.
- Jr. Defenders Mary Carson and Mack Hanlon each caused a turnover, and Carson picked up two ground balls for the Buffs.
- So. Midfielder Emily Dodd had two ground balls and two draw controls.
- For Stanford, Olivia Rose had six ground balls, while Maddigan Miller and Aliya Polisky each had three goals and an assist.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- CU went toe-to-toe with Stanford in the first half with draw controls, only exceeding the Cardinal by one (8-7), and out-shot them, 15-9. All things considered, with the Buffs' second-half woes they still managed to pick up more ground balls on the defensive end than the Cardinal overall (22-17).
- Colorado broke the ice on the first possession of the game, with Hill scoring the second goal of her career, and the first of the Buffs' season, on a feed from Pence. Strong defense from the Buffs kept the Cardinal scoreless in the first quarter, and CU managed four unanswered goals, including two from Ryan. Pisani snuck in a goal towards the end of the quarter, forcing a Stanford timeout, but the Card still could not produce a goal (4-0, CU).
- In the first minute of the second quarter, Hil put another point on the board for the Buffs, this time unassisted. The Cardinal finally scored, but on the next possession, a huge turnover allowed CU to capitalize as Pisani recorded her second goal (6-1). Stanford forced a CU timeout, scoring three goals in a row. Ryan scored quickly coming out of the timeout, successfully securing her first-ever hat trick (7-4). Pence rounded out scoring for the Buffs in the first half on a free position goal, her first since going down against Stanford last season (Mar. 15, 2024). Stanford got the last word in the second quarter on a goal from Lexi Rodell to bring the score to 8-5 at the break.
- The Buffs were held to just one goal in the third quarter. The Cardinal saw back-to-back goals from Aliya Polisky to bring them within one goal (8-7, CU) and another goal from Rodell tied it up. Stanford's first lead of the day forced a Colorado timeout (9-8, STAN). Momentum halted long enough on a clutch save from Heintz, and Pisani secured her hat trick with a goal to wrap up scoring for both teams in the third (9-9).
- Stanford echoed Colorado's first-quarter strength to begin the fourth quarter, registering five unanswered goals. Pisani moved her goal total to four in an effort to restart the Buffs, but the Cardinal came out with the victory, 15-10.
UP NEXT:
- CU wraps up its first road trip with No. 24 USC in a neutral site game this Sunday at California Memorial Coliseum in Berkeley, Calif. Opening draw against the Trojans is set for 2 p.m. MT on Feb. 16. Fans can follow along via Twitter @CUBuffsWLAX and via links on CUBuffs.com.
MATCH NOTES:
- Colorado moves to 9-14 all-time against Stanford.
- The Buffs' road record against the Cardinal falls to 2-6.
- CU moves to 122-68 (.642) all-time and 19-50 against IWLCA ranked opponents.
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.
Team Stats
CU
STAN
Shots
21
29
Turnovers
17
22
Caused Turnovers
12
11
Draw Controls
12
17
Free-Position Shots
5
9
Ground Balls
24
20
Game Leaders
Players
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