Buffs, Stanford Face Off Sunday For Pac-12 Tournament Title

BOULDER — There will be no secrets when No. 1 seed Colorado and No. 2 Stanford face off Sunday for the first-ever Pac-12 women's lacrosse tournament championship.

The two squads are well-acquainted with each other. First draw is scheduled for noon at Prentup Field and the game will be televised live by the Pac-12 Networks.

Colorado (13-4) advanced to the championship game with a dominating 16-6 win over Oregon in Friday's semifinals. Stanford (14-4), meanwhile, rallied from a three-goal deficit in the second half of the second semifinal to collect a 15-14 win over USC to advance.

Sunday's meeting will be the third game between the the Buffs and Cardinal this season. The first two, both won by CU, couldn't have been much closer.

Early in March, CU rallied from a seven-goal first-half deficit to take an 18-16 win in Boulder in the first-ever Pac-12 women's lacrosse game. Colorado senior Darby Kiernan recorded an eight-point day with five goals and three assists as the Buffs notched their largest-ever comeback for the win.

Then, on April 13, the Buffs traveled to Stanford and came away with an 11-10 overtime victory. Colorado led for much of the game, but the Cardinal scored the last three goals in regulation to force the extra period. CU junior Samantha Nemirov, however, put the game away for Colorado with her second goal of the game just 2:49 into overtime, giving the Buffs a decisive win in their run to becoming the first-ever Pac-12 regular season champions.

Now, the two teams will play one more time with another title on the line.

While both teams are strong candidates for an NCAA Tournament at-large berth, only Sunday's winner will earn the conference's guaranteed NCAA Tournament bid.

"At the end of the day, it's about going out and playing one play at a time," Colorado coach Ann Elliott said. "Our mentality coming into (Friday) was that this was our last game. We only have one thing guaranteed now and that is the game on Sunday. We are going to get ourselves rested up and taken care of, and then go out there and play one play at a time for 60 minutes to see what we can do."

Friday's win over Oregon was Colorado's sixth straight victory. It featured balanced scoring — eight different Buffs had at least one goal — as well as a stellar defensive effort, with Colorado holding Oregon to a season-low six goals.

It is a sign that the Buffs are hitting their peak at just the right time.

"I am never happy, I'm convinced that we can always do better," Elliott said. "However, at the same time, I think we are doing a lot of good things and (Friday) was an example of that. Everybody was doing their role and stepping up and doing the things that go unnoticed. That is a really big part of us being at our best. Everyone needs to have the confidence to make plays. We are excited about where we are at, but we will get better tomorrow, and will get better on Sunday."

Stanford may also be playing at peak performance. The Cardinal lost its first two games of the year — to Denver and Stony Brook — but has won 14 of 16 since then, with the only two losses coming at the hands of the Buffs.

BROADCAST: Sunday's game will be televised live on the Pac-12 Network and Pac-12 Mountain, and will also be available on the Pac-12 Now app.

Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu