No. 15 Buffs Fall In Overtime to No. 12 Trojans

LOS ANGELES – Down a goal with seconds left in regulation, the 12^th-ranked Colorado Buffaloes converted on a Southern California turnover, evening the game at 7-7. But less than a minute into overtime, the No. 15 Trojans scored first to defeat CU, 8-7, on Friday night at McAlister Field.

The loss is the first for CU in Pac-12 play as the Buffs are now 2-1 (5-3 overall). The Trojans improved to 2-0 in league play and are 4-3 overall.

WHAT HAPPENED: The Buffs scored the first three goals of the game. Darby Kiernan started things off for the Buffs at 25:35 off an assist from Miranda Stinson. Less than a minute later, Carly Cox put the Buffs up by two, and Samantha Nemirov had the assist. The third goal for CU came at 21:38 when Sadie Grozier converted on a free-position attempt.

Julia Lisella stopped the first five shots she faced before she allowed USC's first goal at 8:41. The Trojans scored twice more before the half was over to even the score before the start of the second half.

The Buffs won the first draw control of the second half and just 67 second into the frame, Grozier scored her second marker of the day. Kiernan found the back of the net a short time later for CU at 22:26, with the helper coming from Cox.

The Trojans stopped CU's run at two after Kaeli Huff scored her third goal of the game at 21:03. USC evened the score for the second time in the game at 18:40, forcing CU to take a timeout. Three minutes later, the Trojans took their first lead as Huff scored her fourth marker of the game.

Colorado was not finished as Kiernan recorded her third goal of the game with 4:25 left in the second half. Lisella kept making saves, which allowed the Buffs to stay in the game. With under 20 seconds remaining, USC recorded a turnover, which was caused by Jen Mistretta. She picked up the ground ball and passed the ball to Kiernan, who found the back of the net with eight seconds left in regulation.

USC's Maeve McMahon won the opening draw of the overtime period and after a quick USC timeout, the Trojans finished the game just 41 second into the frame.

NOTABLE:

For the fourth straight game, Julia Lisella has recorded 10 or more saves.
Lisella had a career-high 17 saves in the game, which tied for fourth in CU history.
Three Buffs have scored at least one point in every game this season: Samantha Nemirov, Darby Kiernan and Miranda Stinson.
This is the second time in the series history a regular season game has gone to overtime. CU won the first ever meeting between the two teams, 12-11, in overtime. That game was played in Boulder.
This is the third game in the series history that has been won by one goal.
CU is 11-3 all-time in games decided by one goal.

TEAM LEADERS:

Colorado

Points: 10

Goals: 7

Assists: 3

Draw Controls: 8

Ground Balls: 19

Saves: 17

Southern California

Points: 14

Goals: 8

Assists: 6

Draw Controls: 9

Ground Balls: 26

Saves: 9

UP NEXT: Colorado will head to Tempe, Ariz., to face Arizona State for the first time in program history. The game will be played on March 18 at 12 p.m. MT.

QUOTEABLE:
Head Coach Ann Elliott
"This was a tough loss. We have to do a better job taking care of the ball and playing aggressive with confidence. Defensively I thought we did a good job in most areas. As we move forward, this is something we need to grow from and get ready to play another big conference game Sunday.

Next Event

Team Stats

Darby Kiernan

Sadie Grozier

Carly Cox

Sophie Castillo

Players Mentioned

Carly Cox

Sadie Grozier

Darby Kiernan

Julia Lisella

Jen Mistretta

Samantha Nemirov

Miranda Stinson

Players Mentioned

Carly Cox

Sadie Grozier

Darby Kiernan

Julia Lisella

Jen Mistretta

Samantha Nemirov

Miranda Stinson