Buffs To Scrimmage Northwestern; Excited For Season To Begin

BOULDER — With just over a week before the start of the 2019 schedule, the No. 17 University of Colorado lacrosse team will have a chance to test itself with a scrimmage against No. 7 Northwestern on Friday, February 1, in Evanston, Ill.

The Buffs and Wildcats will face off at 1:30 p.m. at Ryan Fieldhouse. This will be the first time since 2015 the two teams will not meet during the regular season, but it will be an excellent learning opportunity for both as they begin the regular season the following week.

"We are approaching everything as a game," head coach Ann Elliott Whidden said. "We are planning to play a real game to see where we are at. Obviously we will do some different things and experiment on both sides. Northwestern will do some different things to help us and we will do some different things to help them. At the end of the day, it is all kind of helping each other and really trying to figure out our best version of ourselves as we get ready to go into a real game week after that."

Colorado has been practicing for almost three weeks and so far, things are going well as the coaches try to figure out the best version of the team. "Practice has been exciting since we got back in January," Whidden said. "It has gone fast, which is exciting because we have our first real game in less than two weeks. This team is motivated and hungry, we have been able to grow a lot in a short period of time and I think that we are really excited about the scrimmage to see where we are at as we enter the 2019 season."

The Buffs graduated several key contributors including All-Americans Sarah Brown (defender) and Darby Kiernan (attacker), but have added a great group of freshmen.

"They have been developing a lot throughout the fall and really through the time they have been back here," she said. "I think that we will have some players that you will see come in and start for us and make an impact whether that is in the midfield, on attack, or on defense. We are excited about what they bring to our program and the depth that they add."

Whidden has not shied away from tough competition, and this year's non-conference schedule shows just that as the first three games are against top-15 teams. The Buffs open the regular season at home against No. 6 Florida, which coincidentally ended CU's 2018 season in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. They will also play No. 14 Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., before hosting No. 5 Stony Brook.

"We are excited about our schedule and kicking it off," Whidden said. "Over the last couple of years, we have jumped right in. I think it pays a lot for our team to do that by the end of the season; and to get that experience early on, whether they go your way or don't, you are growing a lot and challenging yourself. By the time you get to March in conference play you are going to be stronger and better."

The Buffs have complied an impressive 34-6 record in Boulder, which includes a 31-5 mark at Kittredge Field. In fact, CU has not dropped a game at Kittredge since April 8, 2016.

"We are really excited about our schedule," Whidden said. "We are excited about the games we have at home. We love playing in Boulder and we are excited to go on the road and play some great teams. Our team loves the challenge and we are going to be ready for it. We will see what we can do early on and where we are at."

Wanting to be better than the year before is always a goal for the Buffs. Through five seasons, they have shown improvement every season, and Whidden intends to keep that trend going.

"We have gotten a little bit better each year," she said. "Like every other team in the country, we want to compete in our conference and win a conference championship, as well as be playing in May. To do that, we know that it starts in February and we have to go out there and be ready to go and compete. We are excited for our non-conference schedule and we are really just looking at one thing at a time and just going from there."

Buffs To Scrimmage Northwestern; Excited For Season To Begin

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Players Mentioned

Sarah Brown

Darby Kiernan