Saturday, February 16
Blacksburg, VA
11:00 AM
Colorado
1-1
17
at
6
Virginia Tech
1-2
1
2
F
Colorado
9
8
17
Virginia Tech
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3
6
Photo by: Brian McWalters
Buffs Rebound With Road Win Against No. 14 Virginia Tech
February 16, 2019 | Lacrosse
BLACKSBURG, Va. – Just one week after dropping its season opener, the University of Colorado lacrosse team bounced back with a convincing win over the No. 14 Virginia Tech Hokies, defeating the Hokies (1-2) in their home arena, 17-6, on Saturday afternoon.Â
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The Buffs (1-1), which are currently ranked 17th in the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) Poll and are 20th in the Inside Lacrosse and US Lacrosse polls, were firing on all cylinders on both ends of the field. While the offense caught fire, the defense also stepped up and had several huge stops, limiting VTU's opportunities.
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"We knew this was going to be a tough game for us and we needed to improve on our effort from last weekend," head coach Ann Elliott Whidden said. "I thought we played with more purpose and aggressiveness today. I was pleased with that and we need to continue that to be successful this coming weekend at home."
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Senior Samantha Nemirov led the Buffs in scoring with five goals, but another pair of Buffs, senior Miranda Stinson and freshman Charlie Rudy, had four goals apiece. In total, seven Buffs found the back of the net.
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In comparison, only three Hokies scored goals. Paige Petty recorded four, while Reilly Reed and Emma Crooks each recorded one.
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WHAT HAPPENED: Colorado got on the board first and never looked back. Stinson scored three of her five goals in the first 12 minutes of the game, starting with 27:29 left in the first half. Junior Anna Collawn responded with her first goal of the season just over 30 seconds later to put the Buffs up 2-0.
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VTU's Petty scored first for the Hokies and got them within a goal, which was the closest VTU would get as CU scored the next three markers (Stinson, Rudy and Stinson) to take a 5-1 lead. CU did not let up and increased the score to 9-3 at halftime.
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Nemirov collected the first goal of the second half at 23:00 to put the Buffs into double-digit goals for the first time this season. Four minutes later, Sophie Castillo earned her second marker of the game to put the Buffs up 11-3.
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The Hokies scored three of the next five goals to bring the score to 13-6, but the Buffs ended the game with four straight goals, including the last of the game by junior Jen Mistretta with 0:50 left to play.
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Stinson, a Virginia native, was able to play in front on a large group of family and friends and had a great showing for them. She was a perfect 2-2 on free-position attempts and added an assist. Stinson also led CU with three caused turnovers and picked up three ground balls.
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KEY STATISTICS: Colorado held the edge in draw controls, 17-8, for the game. Freshman Kate Burnside took the majority of the draws, but sophomore Eliza Cahill won eight of those to lead the Buffs. Burnside won two, while Stinson had three and sophomore Devon Bayer collected two.
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Another area that really helped the Buffs was shots. CU had 18 in the first half and 16 in the second half for a total of 34 and held VTU to just 22 in the game (nine in the first and 13 in the second).
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The Buffs also converted on 50.0% of their free-position attempts (4-8), while the Hokies were just 1 of 4.
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"Overall, I am pleased with our effort and fight today; we can build off of that," Whidden said. "We still have a lot to prove and we know we need to get better this week in practice. As we get ready for next weekend, there are lots of things we need to tighten up and we need to continue to get better as a team. We need to take care of the ball better and make sure we are finishing every play."
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NOTABLE:
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TEAM LEADERS:
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The Buffs (1-1), which are currently ranked 17th in the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) Poll and are 20th in the Inside Lacrosse and US Lacrosse polls, were firing on all cylinders on both ends of the field. While the offense caught fire, the defense also stepped up and had several huge stops, limiting VTU's opportunities.
Â
"We knew this was going to be a tough game for us and we needed to improve on our effort from last weekend," head coach Ann Elliott Whidden said. "I thought we played with more purpose and aggressiveness today. I was pleased with that and we need to continue that to be successful this coming weekend at home."
Â
Senior Samantha Nemirov led the Buffs in scoring with five goals, but another pair of Buffs, senior Miranda Stinson and freshman Charlie Rudy, had four goals apiece. In total, seven Buffs found the back of the net.
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In comparison, only three Hokies scored goals. Paige Petty recorded four, while Reilly Reed and Emma Crooks each recorded one.
Â
WHAT HAPPENED: Colorado got on the board first and never looked back. Stinson scored three of her five goals in the first 12 minutes of the game, starting with 27:29 left in the first half. Junior Anna Collawn responded with her first goal of the season just over 30 seconds later to put the Buffs up 2-0.
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VTU's Petty scored first for the Hokies and got them within a goal, which was the closest VTU would get as CU scored the next three markers (Stinson, Rudy and Stinson) to take a 5-1 lead. CU did not let up and increased the score to 9-3 at halftime.
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Nemirov collected the first goal of the second half at 23:00 to put the Buffs into double-digit goals for the first time this season. Four minutes later, Sophie Castillo earned her second marker of the game to put the Buffs up 11-3.
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The Hokies scored three of the next five goals to bring the score to 13-6, but the Buffs ended the game with four straight goals, including the last of the game by junior Jen Mistretta with 0:50 left to play.
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Stinson, a Virginia native, was able to play in front on a large group of family and friends and had a great showing for them. She was a perfect 2-2 on free-position attempts and added an assist. Stinson also led CU with three caused turnovers and picked up three ground balls.
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KEY STATISTICS: Colorado held the edge in draw controls, 17-8, for the game. Freshman Kate Burnside took the majority of the draws, but sophomore Eliza Cahill won eight of those to lead the Buffs. Burnside won two, while Stinson had three and sophomore Devon Bayer collected two.
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Another area that really helped the Buffs was shots. CU had 18 in the first half and 16 in the second half for a total of 34 and held VTU to just 22 in the game (nine in the first and 13 in the second).
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The Buffs also converted on 50.0% of their free-position attempts (4-8), while the Hokies were just 1 of 4.
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"Overall, I am pleased with our effort and fight today; we can build off of that," Whidden said. "We still have a lot to prove and we know we need to get better this week in practice. As we get ready for next weekend, there are lots of things we need to tighten up and we need to continue to get better as a team. We need to take care of the ball better and make sure we are finishing every play."
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NOTABLE:
- Samantha Nemirov extended her points-streak to 22 games.
- Julia Lisella earned her first win of the season with five saves, two in the first half and three in the second half.
- CU is 36-0 when scoring 15 or more goals and improved to 25-21 when playing on the road.
- The Buffs are also 46-7 when scoring the first goal of the game.
- CU leads the all-time series against VTU 2-0.
- The Buffs also defeated VTU 18-3 in 2018 in Boulder.
- Both teams were ranked in both meetings.
- Virginia Tech is currently ranked 14th in the IWLCA poll, but is 12th in the Inside Lacrosse poll and is 13th in the USL poll.
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TEAM LEADERS:
| Colorado |
| Points: 21 |
| Goals: 17 |
| Assists: 4 |
| Draw Controls: 17 |
| Ground Balls: 22 |
| Saves: 5 |
| Virginia Tech |
| Points: 8 |
| Goals: 6 |
| Assists: 2 |
| Draw Controls: 8Â Â |
| Ground Balls: 25 |
| Saves: 9 |
UP NEXT: Colorado returns home to Boulder for a pair of non-conference contests next weekend. The Buffs host their third straight top-15 opponent, No. 5 Stony Brook, on Feb. 22, at 3 p.m. Then on Feb. 24, CU will face Michigan at 12 p.m. Both games will be played at Kittredge Field.
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QUOTEABLE:
Head Coach Ann Elliott Whidden
"We knew this was going to be a tough game for us and we needed to improve on our effort from last weekend. I thought we played with more purpose and aggressiveness today. I was pleased with that and we need to continue that to be successful this coming weekend at home."
Â
"Overall, I am pleased with our effort and fight today; we can build off of that. We still have a lot to prove and we know we need to get better this week in practice."
Â
"As we get ready for next weekend, there are lots of things we need to tighten up and we need to continue to get better as a team. We need to take care of the ball better and make sure we are finishing every play."
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Team Stats
COLO
VT
Shots
37
23
Turnovers
15
16
Caused Turnovers
8
9
Draw Controls
17
8
Free-Position Shots
8
4
Ground Balls
23
26
Game Leaders
Players
G
5
A
1
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
0
CT
0
G
4
A
2
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
4
CT
3
G
3
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
2
CT
0
G
2
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
1
CT
0
Players Mentioned
M
/ Lacrosse
M
/ Lacrosse
D
/ LacrosseA
/ Lacrosse
M
/ Lacrosse
G
/ Lacrosse
M
/ LacrosseA
/ LacrosseA
/ LacrosseA
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