Colorado
9-6, 4-4MPSF
Fresno State
4-10, 2-6MPSF
Buffs Defeat Fresno State, Clinch MPSF Tournament Bid
April 24, 2015 | Lacrosse
BOULDER – The University of Colorado lacrosse team clinched a bid in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament by defeating the Fresno State Bulldogs, 16-7 here Friday afternoon at Kittredge Field.
The Buffaloes improve to 9-6 overall and climb back to a .500 record against conference opponents at 4-4. Fresno State falls to 4-10 (2-6 MPSF) on the season.
“It feels good to win today,” said freshman Darby Kiernan, who tallied four goals and led all scorers for the second consecutive game. “We just went out really focused, pushing the fast break and came out on top. It was nice to win.”
Sophomore Johnna Fusco, Marie Moore and Blair Sisk each added a hat trick, recording three goals apiece as the Buffs' offense was aggressive right from the start. Fresno State took its only lead of the game when the Bulldogs scored the first goal to go up 1-0, but it was all CU over the next 35 minutes. During that stretch, the Buffs built a 10 goal lead, outscoring the Bulldogs 12-1.
Kiernan converted on a free position attempt at the 25:18 mark to start the scoring frenzy for CU. After sophomore Katie Macleay added another, Kiernan scored her second of the game. She made an impressive catch sprinting left to right in front of the Fresno State goal and found the back of the net. Freshman Carly Cox earned the assist, her 17th of the year, which ties the school record for most assists in one season, a mark set by Fusco and Macleay in 2014.
Colorado would take a 5-2 lead into halftime and then proceeded to score the game's next seven goals to open the second period, ultimately pulling away to secure the victory.
The Buffs' defense also stepped up in a big way. It didn't allow the Bulldogs to establish any sort of rhythm on offense as Fresno State was only 7 for 24 on clear attempts and the Buffs forced a school-record 18 turnovers. The Buffs' also picked up a program-record 31 groundballs to the Bulldogs' 17.
“Whenever the ball is in transition we always try to anticipate where the pass is going to be,” said junior Sarah Lautman, who made a key interception right before the half and caused two turnovers in the game. “Sometimes you're there and see the person throwing the ball so you just want to get there and get the ball back to the attack.”
With Colorado leading 12-2 and just over 19 minutes left to play, Fresno State went on a mini-run, scoring five of the next six goals to cut the deficit to six at 13-7. Angelica Fuccillo had two of her team-leading three for the game and Caroline Dineen-Carlson also scored twice, but the Bulldogs' rally was short-lived. Head coach Ann Elliott called timeout, the Buffs regrouped and scored three straight before the final horn.
CU goalkeeper Paige Soenksen made five saves to earn her ninth win of the season and Natalie Chaffin had a busy day between the posts for Fresno State, tallying 20 saves, which is the most by any MPSF goalie since 2010.
Now with an MPSF bid secured for a second consecutive season, the Buffs will shift their focus to their regular season finale against Oregon on Sunday, April 26, which will help determine the final tournament seeds.
“Sunday is a big game for us because depending on how we finish, that will decide how we go into the conference tournament and who we play in the first round,” Elliott said. “We want to end this season successfully and be successful in our conference.”
“I'm definitely excited,” said Lautman when asked about the finale. “It's a big game for us to prove that we are tough and can beat people.”
First draw is set for 1 p.m. MT at Kittredge Field.
