Friday, February 9
Jacksonville, FL
3:00 PM
Colorado
1-0
20
vs
10
Michigan
0-1
1
2
F
Colorado
9
11
20
Michigan
7
3
10
Junior Miranda Stinson scored a school record seven goals in the 20-10 win over Michigan
Photo by: CUBuffs.com
Stinson’s Record Breaking Day Lifts Buffs To Emotional Win
February 09, 2018 | Lacrosse
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – With the jersey of fallen teammate Julia Sarcona hanging on the Colorado sideline and her memory weighing heavy on their hearts, the Buffaloes opened the 2018 season with an emotional 20-10 win over the Michigan Wolverines on Friday night at Episcopal School in Jacksonville, Fla.
Junior Miranda Stinson led the way for the 17th-ranked Buffs, scoring a school-record seven goals, while senior Darby Kiernan tied a career-best five goals and dominated draws.
WHAT HAPPENED: The Buffs jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in the first nine minutes, but a Michigan goal interrupted CU's quick start at 18:56. CU answered with goals from Samantha Nemirov and Sadie Grozier, stretching the CU lead to 5-1 midway through the first half. Michigan responded with four goals of its own to tie the game at 5-5 with 11:57 remaining in the half. Goals from Stinson and Kiernan put the Buffs back up 7-5 with 7:47 to play in the half, but Michigan answered back. Then in the closing seconds of the half, a goal from Caroline Perry gave the Buffs a 9-7 halftime lead.
Michigan wasted no time in taking back the momentum, scoring a pair of goals in the first two minutes of the second half to even the score at 9-9 with 28:38 remaining in the game. The two teams exchanged goals, and the game was locked at 10 with 25:57 to play.
Stinson broke the tie at 24:06, giving the Buffs an 11-10 lead. From there, CU flipped a switch, and recorded nine more unanswered goals to finish the game on a 10-0 run. Aided in part by Kiernan's dominance controlling draws, goalkeeper Sophia Gambitsky and the Colorado defense, the Buffs went the final 25 minutes of the game without conceding a goal. Kiernan and Stinson each had three goals during CU's decisive 10-0 run, while Carly Cox and Nemirov each added a pair.
DEFENSE: Making her second career start, goalie Sophia Gambitsky bounced back from a tough first half to make three saves during the Buffs second half run. Attacker Sophia Castillo led the team in caused turnovers, breaking up two Michigan clear attempts before crossing midfield. The Buffs also won the ground ball battle, 14-10, with Sarah Brown, Miranda Stinson and Devon Bayer each picking up two.
KEY STATISTICS: Colorado outshot Michigan by a final margin of 37-20. The Buffs converted on all five free-position attempts in the second half, while stifling Michigan to just 3-of-5 on second half free position attempts. CU also won the turnover battle 17-10.
NOTABLE:
TEAM LEADERS:
Junior Miranda Stinson led the way for the 17th-ranked Buffs, scoring a school-record seven goals, while senior Darby Kiernan tied a career-best five goals and dominated draws.
WHAT HAPPENED: The Buffs jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in the first nine minutes, but a Michigan goal interrupted CU's quick start at 18:56. CU answered with goals from Samantha Nemirov and Sadie Grozier, stretching the CU lead to 5-1 midway through the first half. Michigan responded with four goals of its own to tie the game at 5-5 with 11:57 remaining in the half. Goals from Stinson and Kiernan put the Buffs back up 7-5 with 7:47 to play in the half, but Michigan answered back. Then in the closing seconds of the half, a goal from Caroline Perry gave the Buffs a 9-7 halftime lead.
Michigan wasted no time in taking back the momentum, scoring a pair of goals in the first two minutes of the second half to even the score at 9-9 with 28:38 remaining in the game. The two teams exchanged goals, and the game was locked at 10 with 25:57 to play.
Stinson broke the tie at 24:06, giving the Buffs an 11-10 lead. From there, CU flipped a switch, and recorded nine more unanswered goals to finish the game on a 10-0 run. Aided in part by Kiernan's dominance controlling draws, goalkeeper Sophia Gambitsky and the Colorado defense, the Buffs went the final 25 minutes of the game without conceding a goal. Kiernan and Stinson each had three goals during CU's decisive 10-0 run, while Carly Cox and Nemirov each added a pair.
DEFENSE: Making her second career start, goalie Sophia Gambitsky bounced back from a tough first half to make three saves during the Buffs second half run. Attacker Sophia Castillo led the team in caused turnovers, breaking up two Michigan clear attempts before crossing midfield. The Buffs also won the ground ball battle, 14-10, with Sarah Brown, Miranda Stinson and Devon Bayer each picking up two.
KEY STATISTICS: Colorado outshot Michigan by a final margin of 37-20. The Buffs converted on all five free-position attempts in the second half, while stifling Michigan to just 3-of-5 on second half free position attempts. CU also won the turnover battle 17-10.
NOTABLE:
- CU never trailed in the game, despite Michigan tying the score three times
- CU has won its last three season openers, and improves to 4-1 all-time
- CU improves to 3-0 all-time against Michigan
- Miranda Stinson's seven goals are a school record.
- Three Buffs earned their first career start: junior Sophia Castillo and freshmen Sadie Grozier and Devon Bayer.
- Miranda Stinson scored seven goals, setting a CU single-game record. The previous record had been five, which had been done 14 times in the previous four seasons.
- Samantha Nemirov recorded a career high three goals and four points.
- Sophia Gambitsky earned her second career win in as many starts.
TEAM LEADERS:
Colorado
Points: 25
Goals: 20
Assists: 5
Draw Controls: 17
Ground Balls: 14
Saves: 5
Michigan
Points: 12
Goals: 10
Assists: 2
Draw Controls: 15
Ground Balls: 10
Saves: 10
Points: 25
Goals: 20
Assists: 5
Draw Controls: 17
Ground Balls: 14
Saves: 5
Michigan
Points: 12
Goals: 10
Assists: 2
Draw Controls: 15
Ground Balls: 10
Saves: 10
UP NEXT: Colorado will head to Gainesville, Fla. for a matchup against No. 5 Florida at 10 a.m./12 p.m. Sunday. The game is Florida's season opener, while CU holds a 1-0 record.
QUOTEABLE:
Head Coach Ann Elliott
On Darby Kiernan and Miranda Stinson's 12-combined goals
"It was our first game and a lot of emotions all around. I thought we came out pretty well. We had a couple of tough stretches and we had people step up and make plays. For us it's always about seven people doing their jobs. I think when we did that, Darby [Kiernan] and Miranda [Stinson] were able to find and create a lot of great opportunities and we finished them."
On weathering Michigan's comeback to close the game on a 10-0 run
"Again, there were a lot of emotions for us and controlling them and getting back to playing our game was huge. We made a little bit of a change on draws, Darby [Kiernan] started doing a great job of controlling them. That was a huge momentum swing for us. I thought when we had the ball we were able to control the game for the most part. Defensively, we just tried to get back to the basics and do the little things. We got away from that a little bit and created some chances for Michigan and Michigan did a great job of finishing and playing hard in the stretch."
On whether she had any advice for first-year Michigan head coach, and former CU assistant Hannah Nielsen
"I don't know that Hannah needs any of my advice. I thought her team was awesome. I thought they were competitive, I thought they played hard. She's done a great job in the short time she's been there and that team is going to get better every day for the next few months. They're going to be a great team at the end of the season and will compete in the Big Ten, I think, which is really exciting for Hannah. I'm sure there's a lot of excitement to come in the years she's at Michigan."
Team Stats
COLO
MICH
Shots
37
20
Turnovers
10
17
Caused Turnovers
6
3
Draw Controls
16
15
Free-Position Shots
11
10
Ground Balls
14
10
Game Leaders
Players
G
7
A
1
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
2
CT
0
G
5
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
1
CT
0
G
3
A
1
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
0
CT
1
G
2
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
1
CT
0
Players Mentioned
M
/ Lacrosse
D
/ Lacrosse
A
/ Lacrosse
G
/ LacrosseM
/ LacrosseA
/ LacrosseA
/ Lacrosse
A
/ Lacrosse
A
/ LacrosseM
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