Colorado
6-6, 3-2
Stanford
9-2, 3-1
CU Falls 13-5 At No. 8 Stanford
April 06, 2014 | Lacrosse
STANFORD, Calif. – The University of Colorado lacrosse team battled back to within three goals late in the first half, but the No. 8 Stanford Cardinal proved too strong a foe, taking down the Buffaloes 13-5 here Sunday.
The reigning Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament champions came out to a 5-0 start, but back-to-back goals by the Buffs helped trim their lead to three. Stanford quickly got back to form, closing the first half on a 4-0 run.
Though the Cardinal dominated the draw in the second half, eight to one (15 to five total), the Buffs found their stride in other ways late in the game. Stanford continued to push its lead, but for the sixth consecutive game, the Buffs held their opponent to five or fewer goals in the final 30 minutes.
Stanford's attack was strong and consistent throughout, outshooting CU 40-13. The 13 shots match a season-low for the Buffs, with then-No. 9 UMass serving as the only other opponent to slow the team to that level. Stanford also held Colorado to just one free-position attempt, while getting to the 8-meter 11 times. The Cardinal caused 13 of the Buffs' 17 turnovers, and had just six errors of its own.
The Buffs just edged the Cardinal 18 to 17 in ground balls, including 10 to eight in the second half. Paige Soenksen continued to show her strength as a shot blocker, coming up with a career-high 19 saves.
“Stanford's a great team,” CU head coach Ann Elliott said. “They've had a lot of success in the MPSF over the last few years, and they're having a great season. We knew coming out that it was going to be a challenge. They have a lot of weapons offensively. For us to be successful, it takes a team effort.
“There were some good things defensively; obviously Paige was a key to keep us in it. We just had a little trouble finishing plays on the defensive end, and we were giving Stanford three, four opportunities and they were able to convert on some of those. Offensively, it seems like we never really got on a rhythm there.”
Colorado (6-6 overall, 3-2 MPSF) spread the offense between five players, with Cali Castagnola and Amelia Brown led the team with a goal and assist apiece. The Buffs have had a strong inaugural schedule, with four of their six defeats coming at the hands of teams ranked or receiving votes in the IWLCA poll. Three ranked teams have been the only opponents to hold CU to five or fewer goals.
Stanford was without its leading scorer and the current MPSF Offensive Player of the Week Lucy Dikeou, but the Cardinal had no problem finding the back of the net. Nine different players scored, with Hannah Farr, Rachel Ozer and Alex Poplawski combining for seven of Stanford's 13. Stanford bounces back from its tight loss to Denver on Friday, improving to 9-2, 3-1 MPSF on the season.
Though both teams took an even three shots to start the season, Stanford jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first four minutes. When Stanford went up 4-0 by 18:35, the Buffs were forced to take a timeout.
“That first timeout, I kind of wanted to give them a break,” Elliott said. “I knew we were getting a little tired, and I wanted them to know that we were playing well. We were doing a lot of good things, but we had to finish the play. Defensively, we had to stop giving second and third opportunities. Offensively, we were taken back a bit by their pressure and we were having trouble handling the pressure.
“We were starting to get into a rhythm where they knew they could run by people. I just wanted to make sure they knew that we were doing well. We had to pick it up a little bit, but if we had that confidence and composure we could be successful.”
Stanford scored one more out of the break, grabbing a five goal lead with 16:04 remaining. The Buffs would freeze the Stanford scoring spree for nearly 13 minutes, finding a rhythm on both ends of the field. It took over 20 minutes, but the Buffs got their first goal with 6:40 remaining. Brown got CU on the board after some stellar dodging. Just 32 seconds later, Sarah Lautman cut Stanford's lead to three with a strike from the 8-meter.
Stanford powered back in the final 3:14 to take an 8-2 lead into halftime. The Cardinal's eighth goal of the half happened lighting fast, winning the draw, Poplawski got the fast break and sent one jumping into the net.
Stanford kept up its scoring ways to begin the second half, pushing its lead to 10-2 within the first five minutes. The Buffs were finally able to journey into Cardinal territory, taking the time to find the right shot. Though CU turned it over, they recovered when Stanford was unable to get the clear. The work paid off as Castagnola powered one in for the Buffs.
Nearing the midway mark of the second half, Marie Moore was triple-teamed on the right edge, but sent a beautiful pass to Castagnola who found Johnna Fusco. Fusco sped in and put it in from six meters out.
As they had done before after back-to-back Buffalo goals, the Cardinal put on a run of their own, starting their 2-0 stand just ten seconds after Fusco's score, with Farr netting her third.
In the final 10 minutes, the teams would manage just three more goals, as Stanford worked to put away the game. Brown found Moore for CU's last at 7:49. Laura Klein would get the final nail in the coffin for the Cardinal with 6:33 on the clock. Stanford kept pestering the CU defense, taking five more shots in the last five minutes, though the Buffs got the necessary stops.
“Stanford is a good team,” Elliott said. “You can't give them those second and third opportunities, and they got them. They were able to put those runs together. For us, it was just about trying to find a way to dig deep, continue doing what we're doing but to dig deep and actually finish those plays all the way through our transition and into our offense. We struggled with that today.”
CU nears the end of the regular season with a four-game home stand. Next weekend, they play host to conference opponents USC and San Diego State. The Buffs take on the Trojans at 4 p.m. on Friday, April 11 in a match-up televised on the Pac-12 Regional Networks. Be one of the first 300 fans in attendance and receive a free T-shirt. Colorado ends the weekend against the SDSU Aztecs at 1 p.m. on Sunday, April 13. To celebrate Youth Lacrosse Day, players in the eighth grade and younger are invited to a post-game skills and drills clinic.
“We're going to continue to focus in on those little things,” Elliott said. “We've got to find a way to come up with more draw controls, especially against good teams, or you're not going to be able to stop them every time defensively. You've got to give yourself a chance off that draw, off the 50-50. We'll try out a few different things in practice, but it's just refocusing in and being able to do it when you're tired. When it matters most is usually when you're tired, and we've got to get our kids in that mindset to be able to dig a little deeper and come up with those in the big moments, even if they're a little tired.”
Stanford 13, Colorado 5
| Score by Period | 1 | 2 | Total |
| Colorado | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| Stanford | 8 | 5 | 13 |
Colorado SCORING: GOALS: Brown, Amelia 1; Castagnola, Cali 1; Lautman, Sarah 1; Fusco, Johnna 1; Moore, Marie 1.
ASSISTS: Brown, Amelia 1; Castagnola, Cali 1.
Stanford SCORING: GOALS: Farr, Hannah 3; Ozer, Rachel 2; Poplawski, Alex 2; Murray, Kelsey 1; Lentz, Meg 1; Newstrom, Emily 1; Tesei, Mackenzie 1; Fraser, Kyle 1; Klein, Laura 1.
ASSISTS: Murray, Kelsey 2; Crerend, Alexandra 1; Kalinowski, Meredith 1; Ozer, Rachel 1.
