Colorado
11-6
San Diego State
9-8
Buffs Dominate SDSU, 15-6, Advance To MPSF Semifinals
April 30, 2015 | Lacrosse
DENVER – The University of Colorado lacrosse team defeated San Diego State in dominant fashion, 15-6, here Thursday evening in the first round of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Tournament, advancing to the semifinals for a second straight season.
Colorado (11-6) was led by freshman Darby Kiernan, who recorded her third five-goal game of the season. Sophomores Johnna Fusco and Katie Macleay each tallied a hat trick with three goals and Tori Link also added two.
CU improved to 2-1 all-time in the postseason and 4-0 against San Diego State. In the Buffs' previous three meetings facing SDSU (9-8), each game was decided by only one goal and neither team had scored more than nine goals, but tonight however was a different story.
The Buffaloes controlled possession throughout much of the game and unleashed a 10-0 run midway through the first half to separate themselves from the Aztecs. Kiernan was the anchor on offense, leading all-scorers for a fourth straight game and provided the spark to get attack going early on, scoring the Buffs' first three goals. Each team tallied a pair of goals nine minutes in, but after that point CU never looked back and led the rest of the way.
“We just came out and wanted to play hard,” said defender Sarah Lautman. “Our thing is we always want to show what Colorado lacrosse is about. It's playing hard, working hard, no matter what the score. I think our team really took that into account tonight. It's the tournament, so you win or you're out. We really came out with that mentality and just want to keep playing, play another day.”
Fusco scored two straight for the Buffs to begin their run. On her first goal, she picked up the groundball after an SDSU turnover near the mid-line, raced past the defense and put the ball past Aztec goalkeeper Katrina Reeves. Fusco then added her second on a free-position shot, giving CU a 5-2 advantage. She has scored in 21 straight games, dating back to last season.
“San Diego State is such a good team,” said Colorado head coach Ann Elliott. “They play so hard with so much passion and effort. We knew coming in it was going to be a tough game for us and I think our girls did a really good job coming out, competing, playing hard, using our speed and really putting away our shots early, when we needed to.”
Rain started to fall, but that didn't stop the Buffs' attack. Kiernan followed, adding two more goals, one on a feed from freshman Carly Cox and another unassisted. Sophomore Marie Moore also scored with just 30 seconds left in the period and sent CU into the locker room with an 8-2 lead.
“At halftime, we said, 'this is our game, we got it,'” said Kiernan. “We came out in the second half just really wanting to put it away and get the win.”
At the start of the second half, Macleay stepped up, scoring three straight times to secure her third hat trick this season, making it 11-2 in favor of the No. 4 seed Buffs. Sophomore Tori Link capped off the impressive run with her sixth goal of the season.
Colorado's defense had another solid performance, causing 12 turnovers and forced the Aztecs into many low angle shots. CU goalkeeper Paige Soenksen faced 13 shots, recording seven saves and held San Diego State's main offensive threat, Christina Ricciardulli scoreless.
“We just played our game,” said Lautman. “There was a lot of communication from all of us, having our slides there and just playing good one v. one defense I think is really what helped us tonight.”
San Diego State didn't tally their third goal of the game until Michaela Jarvis scored at the 21:19 mark of the second period. After Fusco scored for the third time, making it 13-4, SDSU strung together three-straight goals. The Aztecs' Alexa Comfort had two of the three, to lead her team in scoring, but that's all SDSU would get as the Buffs finished it off with two more of their own.
The Buffs find themselves in familiar territory as they will take on top-seeded Stanford in the semifinals on Friday. CU also faced the Cardinal in the second round of the MPSF tournament last season, falling 15-6.
“A little bit of déjà vu, but it feels good,” Lautman said. “I think we're a different team than we were last year. We have a lot of depth, a lot of athleticism.”
Stanford, who is currently ranked No. 15 in the nation, finished first in the conference and earned a first-round tournament bye.
“We're excited about our effort tonight...but tomorrow is a whole new day,” Elliott said. “A new ball game and another day that if we want to continue our season we have to compete and win. It's going to take everything we have. Stanford, they're fast, they have a lot of weapons on offense. They're strong defensively. They can play a bunch of different ways and we're going to have to come out and compete even harder and with a strong mentality to do it again in less than 24 hours.”
First draw is set for 4 p.m. MDT and will be played at Peter Barton Stadium on the University of Denver Campus. The second MPSF semifinal game will feature No. 2 seed USC against No. 3 seed Denver at 7 p.m.
