Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
3-0
Towson
1-4
Buffaloes Trample Tigers, 17-5
February 21, 2026 | Lacrosse
BOULDER – No. 18 Colorado produced an offensive explosion on Saturday, with nine different players finding the back of the net in the 17-5 victory over Towson at Kittredge Field.
Teagan Ryan led the charge for the Buffaloes for the second game in a row. She scored six times on Saturday to become the first Buff to hit the 10-goal mark this season. Rachel Kennedy followed with her second career hat trick. Freshmen Rowan Edson and Sophia Yeskulsky both recorded their first career goals.
Senior Lily Assini handed out a season-high four assists to go with a goal of her own. In all, 11 different CU players combined for 29 points on the day.
"I think a big emphasis for this game was just doing the little details and communicating while also staying composed," Assini commented after the win. "I think as an offensive unit, we were really good at doing that today and just getting the job done."
CU's 17-goal effort was the first time exceeding 10 goals this season. Previously, the Buffs had 10 goals at Northwestern and eight against Cornell.
"I think we're very capable of scoring in a lot of different ways and have different players that can step up," head coach Ann Elliott Whidden remarked. "It's fun to continue seeing them step up in their roles, play to their strengths and being pretty disciplined down there."
Defensively, Colorado had 13 groundballs and five caused turnovers. Molly Reed picked up three groundballs for the Buffs. Jess Peluso recorded nine draw controls on the day. Elena Oh made five saves to surpass 100 for her career.
Coach Whidden emptied the bench with the game in hand in the fourth quarter. Caity Brower spelled Oh in net, while her sister, Addison Brower, made her first appearance of the season. 10 different Buffs saw their first playing time of the season on Saturday.
"This is a group that works really hard every day at practice," Whidden noted. "They challenge us, they take advantage of their opportunities, so for us to be able to get them in and for them to be able to go out and there, play, composed and get some good opportunities is huge, and I think it's exciting for the future of this program."
Colorado had more draw controls (17-6), caused turnovers (5-3), assists (12-3) and shots (40-18) than the Tigers.
Hannah Lewis and her two goals led Towson (1-4).
How it Happened
Ryan got the scoring going early, putting the game's first shot past Towson goalkeeper Jenna Cardeno in the first 40 seconds of the quarter. Towson tied the game on its first shot from Katie Roszko less than a minute later. The Buffs got goals from Kennedy, Maddie Shoup, and another from Ryan to take a 4-1 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Kennedy and Ryan found again beat Cardeno to notch the first two goals of the second quarter, taking a 6-2 lead with 9:23 to play in the half before Towson's Lewis cut the CU lead in half, 6-3, with 7:16 left to go.
Jaimey Hill scored the first of three unanswered goals by the Buffs to go up 7-4. Ryan closed the half with two more goals, giving her five in the first 30 minutes and CU a commanding 9-3 lead at the break.
"Teagan is a great player who's become pretty dynamic." Whidden expressed. "I think she takes advantage of her opportunities and is really growing from last year in that experience. We're really excited about where she's at and where this team's at."
Colorado had seven more draw controls in the first half, winning in the circle 10-3. The Buffaloes also had 21 shots, 13 on goal, compared to Towson's 10, with seven on goal.
The Buffs shutout Towson in the third quarter, keeping the Tigers to just three shots in the period. CU put the game out of reach, 14-3, in the quarter with five more goals on five shots on goal.
A pair of first-time goalscorers in Edson and Yeskulsky pushed the CU advantage to 13, 16-3, with under 10 minutes to play. Phoebe Rogala put the finishing touches on the victory with her first career goal on a free-position shot with five minutes to play.
"It's the best feeling ever," Assini said of watching her teammates score for the first time. "Being a senior now, I know what that feels like. Seeing some of these girls come in and take advantage of their opportunities is huge. I'm really happy for all of them."
Notes
Colorado is now 1-0 all-time against Towson…Ryan scored her second hat trick of the season, seventh of her career…Kennedy earned her first hat trick of the season, second of her career…Ryan's six goals were the most by a Buff since Madeline Pisani scored seven at SDUS ( Mar. 29, 2025)…CU won the draw control battle, 17-6…Towson was two better in groundballs, 15-13…Reed led the team in ground balls with four…Assini extended her point streak to 19 straight games and has a goal in 10 straight games…Assini passed Sadie Grozier for 11th all-time on CU's career assist list, now with 36…Shoup has now scored in 14 consecutive games…Peluso's nine draw controls were the most by a Buff since her nine against Cincinnati last season (Apr. 26, 2025).
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