Colorado Lacrosse Upsets No. 18 Stony Brook

BOULDER – The Colorado lacrosse team (4-4, 0-0 Big 12) defeated No. 18 Stony Brook (5-3, 1-0 CAA), 7-6, at Prentup Field on Thursday, Mar. 20.

The Buffaloes didn't give up the lead after scoring their second goal with three and a half minutes left in the first quarter. CU maintained its energy through the remaining quarters to get its second win over a ranked team this season.

"We came out strong," head coach Ann Elliott Whidden said. "This is a really good Stony Brook team […] they just played great down against Denver. For us to come out and be able to compete for 60 minutes was huge. We stuck together, and we did the little things – I'm really proud of [our team]."

CU won in the draw circle, 12-5, holding Stony Brook to zero draws in the third quarter. The Buffs caused five turnovers as a team and out-shot the Seawolves, 26-22.

KEY PLAYERS:

Gr. A Madeline Pisani scored her 17th hat trick of her career, tying her for sixth all-time in CU hat trick leaders. She also had two ground balls and one draw control.
Jr. D Jess Peluso ended the game with seven draw controls, two more than the entire Stony Brook team combined. She also had caused three turnovers.
Jr. M Maddie Shoup scored two goals and had one draw control.
Jr. M Lily Assini assisted two goals and had one ground ball.
Gr. A Morgan Pence scored one goal for the Buffs.
So. M Averi Gardner had two draw controls, two caused turnovers and one ground ball.
Jr. M Molly Reed had one goal, two ground balls and one draw control.
So. A Teagan Ryan had one assist.
Fr. GK Elena Oh saved eight shots, saving .571.
Gr. D Jordan Johnson had two ground balls and one draw control.
Jr. D Mary Carson had one assist and one ground ball.
For Stony Brook, Riley McDonald scored three goals, and Isabella Caporuscio scored two goals.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

The Buffaloes started out the game with four saves from Oh. The Seawolves opened scoring, but Pisani quickly responded with a goal of her own, assisted by Assini (1-1). A minute later, Pence scored her 10th goal of the season to start a lead for the Buffs that continued to the end of the game (2-1, CU).
The second quarter started with high intensity from the Buffs with an Assini assisted goal by Shoup, her 13^th of the season. After a timeout from CU, Stony Brook scored their second goal (3-2, CU). Pisani responded with her second goal of the game, bringing the score to 4-2 (CU). Stony Brook scored again, but the Black and Gold scored the final goal of the half (5-3, CU).
Colorado was the only team to score in the third quarter as the Buff defense held strong. Peluso caused a turnover, and Reed capitalized, picking up the ground ball and scoring off an assist from Ryan (6-3, CU). The third quarter saw many fouls, shot attempts and free position shots, but neither team scored in the last 10 minutes of the quarter.
In the final quarter, Stony Brook came out swinging. The Seawolves scored their fourth goal off a free-position, man-up attempt (6-4, CU). After another free position goal from Stony Brook, CU kicked into gear, obtaining the final three draw controls of the quarter. Pisani earned her hat trick off an 8-meter shot, her 17^th goal of the season (7-5). SBU scored once more, but the Buffs ran out the clock and upset the Seawolves, 7-6.

UP NEXT:

Colorado has one more game this week against Dartmouth. This game is a neutral site matchup in Houston, Texas, on Sunday, Mar. 23. Opening draw against the Big Green is set for 11 a.m. MT. This game will not be streamed, but fans can follow along via Twitter @CUBuffsWLAX or LiveStats on our website CUBuffs.com.

MATCH NOTES:

CU moves to 126-71 (.640) all-time and 4-1 at home this season.
This is the Buffs first win over a CAA team this season and first win over Stony Brook in program history.
The Buffs earn their second win over a ranked team this season and 21st all-time.
This is the first win over a top-20 team since defeating Penn State in Pennsylvania at the beginning of last season (Feb. 16, 2024).
Pisani's hat trick is good for 337th for CU all-time, ninth this season for the Buffs.

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.

Next Event

Team Stats

Madeline Pisani

Maddie Shoup

Molly Reed

Morgan Pence

Players Mentioned

Lily Assini

Mary Carson

Averi Gardner

Jordan Johnson

Elena Oh

Jess Peluso

Morgan Pence

Madeline Pisani

Molly Reed

Teagan Ryan

Maddie Shoup

Players Mentioned

Lily Assini

Mary Carson

Averi Gardner

Jordan Johnson

Elena Oh

Jess Peluso

Morgan Pence

Madeline Pisani

Molly Reed

Teagan Ryan

Maddie Shoup