Buffs Open Season Against Michigan and No. 5 Florida

BOULDER — The 17th-rated Colorado lacrosse team opens its fifth season on Friday, February 9, with a neutral site contest against Michigan at Episcopal School in Jacksonville, Fla. Then on Sunday, Feb. 11, the Buffs will square-off against No. 5 Florida in Gainesville, Fla.

HOW TO WATCH: The game against Michigan will not be streamed, but live stats will be available at CUBuffs.com. Live stats and a live stream will be available for the contest against Florida with links at CUBuffs.com.

ABOUT THE BUFFS: Colorado finished the 2017 campaign with a 16-4 record, setting a school record for wins in a single season. The Buffs also earned a second-place finish in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation with a 7-1 mark.

The Buffs return seven of its 12 starters from last season, most notably senior Darby Kiernan, who led the Buffs with 77 points. The IWCLA Third Team All-American tallied a team-best 52 goals and added 22 assists. She led CU with 120 draw controls, which was 11^th in the NCAA. CU also returns senior Sarah Brown, an IWLCA Second Team All-American, who recorded a team-best and CU single-season record 33 caused turnovers. She added 41 draw controls and 39 ground balls.

ABOUT MICHGAN: The Wolverines recorded a 5-12 overall record in 2017 and were 1-5 in Big Ten play. UM lost its top six scorers from the season, but does bring back Bianca Brueckner, a 12-point scorer from last season.

The Wolverines also return both of their goalkeepers, Mira Shane and Alli Kathari. Shane earned a 4-5 record while allowing 13.70 goals per game. Kothari allowed 12.10 goals per game and led the pair in save percentage (.428-.411).

UM is under new leadership this season. Hannah Nielsen, a former assistant at Colorado, took over the reins of the program during the offseason. Nielson was with the Buffs from 2014-15 and was one of the original two assistant coaches under CU Head Coach Ann Elliott.

ABOUT FLORIDA: The Gators are ranked fifth in the IWLCA Preseason Poll, and for good reason. They finished the 2017 season with a 17-3 record. In the second round of the NCAA Tournament (after a bye in round one), UF fell to Southern California.

While Florida graduated its top player from the 2017 season, Mollie Stevens, the Gators bring back a great deal of depth. Three of their top five scorers return and recorded at least 50 points. Lindsey Ronbeck was second to Stevens on the team last year with 73 points (Stevens had 75). Ronbeck also scored 53 goals and added 20 assists.

Defensively the Gators bring back all three goalkeepers. Haley Hicklen started in all 20 games. She allowed just 8.82 goals per game and totaled a .477 save percentage.

HOME GAME INFORMATION: All but one of Colorado's home games will be played at Kittredge Field. Admission to all games at Kittredge is free, as is parking in Lot 416. The only regular season game that will not be played at Kittredge is on April 8 against Arizona State. That contest will be played at Prentup Field, the site of the 2018 Pac-12 Lacrosse Championships. Tickets will be $5, while children 12 and under will be free.

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Players Mentioned

Sarah Brown

Darby Kiernan