Colorado University Athletics
Buffs Building Towards Opener
January 09, 2026 | Lacrosse
BOULDER — Head coach Ann Elliott Whidden and her Colorado lacrosse team returned to the field inside the Ford Practice Facility on Thursday, officially marking the start of the 2026 season.
The Buffaloes enter their 13th season in 2026, all under the direction of Whidden, who has compiled a 130-75 record.
"It is great to be back with this team," Whidden expressed. "This group is highly focused and motivated to get to work and we have had a great start to our spring practices. The intensity and competitiveness they bring everyday has been great to see."
Colorado played seven fall warm-up games, including a pair against the team's season-opening opponent, Northwestern. The Buffs also played exhibition games against Canada's U20 National Team, Marquette, Denver, and Stanford before their annual scrimmage against CU alums.
The 2025 Buffs finished 8-8 overall and 4-1 in Big 12 play, earning the No. 2 seed in the inaugural Big 12 Tournament. Returning defender Jess Peluso scored Nike Lacrosse Media All-America honorable mention honors last season and was the Big 12's Defensive Player of the Year.
Sophomore goaltender Elena Oh won four Big 12 Goalkeeper of the Week awards last year and was selected to the Big 12 All-Newcomer Team. She led the Big 12 and ranked 18th in the NCAA with a 9.81 goals-against average in her freshman season. Oh was also third in the conference with a .399 save% and made 5.93 saves per game (5th Big 12).
Also returning in 2026 are All-Conference selections Maddie Shoup and Lily Assini. The offensive duo finished second and third on the team in points last season, respectively. Shoup totaled career-highs in goals (30) and assists (13) for 43 total points. Assini totaled 16 goals and a career-high 23 assists for a career-best 39 points.
Colorado scored 178 total goals in 2025 and returns 57% of its scoring from a year ago.
"We are so excited for the spring and the challenges we have on our schedule," Whidden added. "We are looking forward to taking the next few weeks to lock in on ourselves and just focus on getting better everyday so we are prepared for those opportunities. This is a great group and I'm just really looking forwarding to seeing what we can do this season!"
Nine true freshmen will look to compete for some key roles this spring. Whidden added newcomers Rowan Edson, Georgia Rios and Sophia Yeskulsky to the attack, Charlotte Yeskulsky, Alison Stevens, Julia Etu and Parker Lemm to the middles and Hailie Abrams and Ryann McLeod to the defensive corps. Jillian Kane joins the goalie depth chart, having played her first two seasons at Colby College.
The season gets underway with a trip to Evanston, Ill., to play national runner-up Northwestern on Feb. 9. The Buffs' first home game is set for Feb. 15 against Cornell.
For more information on Colorado Lacrosse, please visit cubuffs.com/wlax. Fans of the Buffs can follow @cubuffswlax on Instagram, X, TikTok, and Facebook.
