Colorado University Athletics
Rise Of CU Lacrosse Program Has Been Rapid
March 23, 2016 | Lacrosse, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — In less than three years, the Colorado women's lacrosse team has gone from starting from scratch to knocking on the door of the postseason.
It's been an accelerated trajectory that not many people could have expected — but also not one that has come as a surprise to anyone who knows head coach Ann Elliott.
Elliott came to Colorado from Northwestern, where she played on three national championship teams and served as an assistant coach on another three national title squads. Her goal when she arrived as CU's first head coach was simple: make the Buffs as competitive as possible as quickly as possible. She immediately began recruiting on a national basis, established a challenging schedule from the outset — and the results have been outstanding.
“When we started our first year, we tried not to have expectations as to what should, could and couldn't happen,” Elliott said. “I think that limits you. In my time at Northwestern, I learned that you never want to limit yourself. You have to push yourself to your best potential and you have to believe in that.
“When I arrived here, I had a trajectory of this program based pretty much on Northwestern's first four years of their program. We're not there yet. We're on the path, but we have a lot of work ahead of us to get where we want to go.”
Where the Buffs are now is on the cusp of their most successful season in their three-year history. Currently the owners of a 6-1 record, they already own the program's first win over rival Denver, as well as a victory over James Madison, a 2015 NCAA Tournament squad.
It's been enough that earlier this season, they were receiving votes in the national polls.
But the road ahead gets considerably tougher, beginning with Thursday's matchup at Northwestern, currently ranked No. 7 in the national coaches' poll. After that, it's a Sunday game at Michigan, followed by a road trip to California, where they'll meet UC-Davis on April 1 and ninth-ranked Stanford on April 3.
Their next home match is April 8, when No. 8 USC pays a visit to Boulder.
“Our goal is to be the best that we can be,” said defender Sarah Lautman, the only senior on the team. “That's what Colorado Lacrosse is about. If we want to be in the top 20, if we want to be one of the best teams in the nation, we have to play the best teams in the nation. That's why we played Notre Dame, that's why we played JMU. We want to play people that will challenge us so that we'll rise up and be a great program as well. We're trying to form that legacy now.”
Forming that legacy, one that will cement the foundation for long-term success, has been a bond for the Buffs since the day they stepped onto the field together for the first time. They carved out an 11-8 record their first season and followed that up with an 11-7 finish last year. Both times, they qualified for the MPSF Tournament and advanced to the semifinals.
This year, they'd like to take the next step. That means advancing to the finals in the MPSF tournament and perhaps earning an NCAA Tournament berth.
“That's something we're definitely trying to work to achieve,” said goalie Paige Soenksen. “That's a goal. We're on a good path, but we're only halfway through the season. We have to show up to every game we play, do the little things, work as hard as possible and hopefully we can make it.”
Lacrosse is traditionally an “Eastern” sport. No team from west of the Mississippi River has ever won an NCAA women's national title or finished second.
But the Buffs believe they can help change that trend.
“I think lacrosse in the West in general is catching the nation by surprise,” Soenksen said. “On a national basis, West Coast lacrosse — and Colorado is part of that — is becoming more and more well known. Being a part of that is an exciting thing.”
Colorado junior Johnna Fusco, who had four goals in Monday's 19-4 win over Marist, said she came to CU in part because she wanted to be part of building a program from the ground up. Before she leaves, her aim is to help the Buffs into the NCAA Tournament.
“When I was looking at schools, that's the one thing I had in my heart,” Fusco said. “Even though we were just starting, I knew Coach Ann was going to build a program that had a chance of competing at the top level and competing for an NCAA championship. It was a huge factor in me coming here, and our coaches have it ingrained in us that it's why we're here.”
Midfielder Marie Moore, who came to Colorado from New Jersey, also chose the Buffs over other more established programs.
“This has been special since the first day we got here,” Moore said. “It's a huge part of who we are. We're trying to build something that will be remembered, something that the next classes can build off of and keep it going for years to come. It's cool to be the first and awesome to start something from scratch. It will be nice looking back someday and seeing what we helped start.”
If this season has taught the Buffs anything, it's that they no longer must be in awe of top programs. Their only loss thus far came at the hands of fourth-ranked Notre Dame, a 14-4 decision early in the season.
“We're not a young team anymore,” Fusco said. “We should be ready to go out and compete with whoever is on our schedule. I think we're going into this next game with more confidence and more momentum than we've had before. We're going to go there to compete with them.”
Elliott said she has seen a change in her team. From untested youngsters three seasons ago, they are now a veteran group that is playing with confidence.
“In our early years, our players would watch games on TV and say, 'Oh, they're so good,'” Elliott said. “They had trouble understanding that they were the same. But as we've continued to grow as a team, as a program, they're starting to truly believe — not just say they believe, but truly understand they have a lot of potential.”
Thursday's game against her alma mater and former coach, Kelly Amonte Hiller, is obviously a special moment for Elliott. A year ago, the Buffs traveled to Evanston and dropped a relatively close 14-8 decision. This year, they have designs on much more.
“When you grow up with a mentor like Kelly, you always want her to be proud of you,” Elliott said. “For us it's going in there and showing her what we've done in a positive way and showing her what she's taught me.”
But while the Northwestern game is no doubt important as a program barometer, the true test will come when the Buffs hit the meat of their MPSF schedule.
“When we set out with this program, there was obviously a progression of everything we wanted to do,” Elliott said. “Our biggest focus is to compete in our conference. We've made it to the tournament every year and we've made it to the semifinals, but Stanford was a big roadblock for us in both years. We can't think about getting to the NCAA Tournament if we're not successful in our conference.”
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
