Buffs’ Comeback Falls Short Against Wolverines

BOULDER – University of Colorado senior Samantha Nemirov netted a pair of goals for the Buffs, but the University of Michigan recorded the win on Sunday afternoon, defeating the Buffs 8-6 at Kittredge Field.

The 14th-ranked Buffs are now 1-3 to start the season, while No. 25 Michigan improved to 5-0.

WHAT HAPPENED: UM scored the first two goals of the game, including one in the first 92 seconds, to go up 2-0. Colorado responded with 18:53 left in the first half with sophomore Sadie Grozier, but almost a minute later, UM recorded another marker to go up 3-1.

Nemirov tallied her first goal of the game with 15:52 remaining, which cut UM's lead to 4-2. But before the Buffs were able to score again, the Wolverines found the back of the net three times. Senior Sophie Castillo made the score 7-3 with her only goal of the game at 10:27.

The CU defense tightened up in the second half, allowing just one UM goal, but only scored three times, which was not enough for the win. Senior Miranda Stinson recorded the first goal of the half 10 minutes into the second frame. Michigan's only marker in the half came five minutes later.

The Buffs kept trying to chip away at UM's lead with two more goals from sophomore Devon Bayer and another by Nemirov, but ran out of time.

"I think a big difference for us [between halves] was a little bit mentality," head coach Ann Elliott Whidden said. "Aggressiveness on defense, which was part of the game plan and we didn't do it to start the first half, we didn't do the things we knew to start that. Then draw controls obviously were a big part, but I think just doing what we know we're capable of. You know, we got the ball a few more times but still, if we can't execute it doesn't matter."

Colorado did force 14 of UM's 20 turnovers. Sophomore Macaul Mellor recorded a career-high three, while Devon Bayer and Elinor Wolf each had two.

KEY STATISTIC: Mira Shane recorded 17 saves in the win for Michigan and only allowed the Buffs to score six times.

NOTABLE:

Samantha Nemirov extended her points-streak to 24 games.
This was Michigan's first win in the all-time series, which CU leads 3-1
Colorado recorded 31 ground balls, which is tied for second in CU single-game history.
CU also had 14 caused turnovers, which is tied for fifth in single game history

TEAM LEADERS:

Colorado

Points: 9

Goals: 6

Assists: 3

Draw Controls: 7

Ground Balls: 31

Saves: 8

Michigan

Points: 12

Goals: 8

Assists: 4

Draw Controls: 9

Ground Balls: 16

Saves: 17

UP NEXT: Colorado starts Pac-12 Conference play on March 8 at Stanford.

QUOTEABLE:
Head Coach Ann Elliott Whidden
On Why the Effort Today Wasn't Enough
"You know, I think obviously Michigan is a very well coached team and they came out ready and they got a lot of energy. I think, you know, for us we didn't come out and we weren't sticking to the game plan. We had a very specific game plan and when we did it, we did well, and we executed. I think that was the difference for us defensively, I think it changed on the draw and helped us get possessions."

On How to Turn Turnovers Into Fast Break Points Next Game
"Yeah, right. If you had the answer I'd love to know it. I think at the end of the day we caused some turnovers and we didn't do a great job in transition. We have to become a better transition team. That's got to be a part of our game and we're not doing a good job being aggressive and being a threat in that so that those turn into goals for us. I think outside of that its executing. Some things didn't go our way, in shooting we hit a lot of pipes on there and the goalie played awesome, but at the end of the day we gotta expect more out of ourselves and we have to do a better job scoring goals."

On the Difference Between the First and Second Halves
"I think a big difference for us was a little bit mentality. Aggressiveness on defense, which was part of the game plan and we didn't do it to start the first half, we didn't do the things we knew to start that. Then draw controls obviously were a big part but I think just doing what we know we're capable of. You know, we got the ball a few more times but still, if we can't execute it doesn't matter."

Eliza Cahill, Sophomore Defender
On what was expected from the Michigan offense
"From the sidelines coming in we knew that Michigan was going to be a really aggressive team. So, we wanted to make sure we would go one-hundred percent on ground balls, one on ones, and really match their aggression both on defense and on the attack end. We were ready to put our full effort into this match today."

On being down 7-3 after the first half and adjustments that needed to be made
"It was really in our mindset where we can fight back once we get in that hole like you mentioned. We have the ability to get it on the defensive end all the way to the attack and get out of a hole and keep fighting back to get where we want to be."

On the difference of being a sophomore playing for CU
"Things are a little bit different. I have one year of experience under my belt and I kind of know what to expect. I go in with a fresh mindset into every game and I think everyone else looks forward to putting in one-hundred percent effort. We're trying to represent Boulder and our school in every match we play in and other schools in the Pac-12."

Players Mentioned

Devon Bayer

Eliza Cahill

Sophie Castillo

Sadie Grozier

Macaul Mellor

Samantha Nemirov

Miranda Stinson

Elinor Wolf