2019 Colorado Lacrosse Season Recap

BOULDER — The 2019 University of Colorado lacrosse season was another one for the books. The Buffaloes advanced to their third straight NCAA Tournament, recorded some big wins against ranked foes and collected individual accolades along the way.

CU earned an 11-8 record, marking the sixth straight year the Buffs recorded 10 or more wins in a season. CU also finished the Pac-12 Conference schedule with an 8-2 mark, which was second in the regular season. The Buffs finished as the runner-up in the Pac-12 Tournament to the regular season champion, Southern California.

The season got out to a slower start then desired, with the Buffs starting 1-3. Colorado opened the season against No. 6 Florida at Kittredge Field in Boulder, February 9. The Gators got out to a quick start and defeated the Buffs, 16-9. The Buffs hit the road for their second game of the season and had a much better result, defeating No. 14 Virginia Tech, 17-6, in Blacksburg, Va. Senior Miranda Stinson earned her first Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week honor with four goals, two assists, four ground balls, three caused turnovers and three draw controls in the contest, while sophomore Eliza Cahill was awarded the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week honor with eight draw controls, three ground balls and one caused turnover.

CU returned home for a pair of games against top-25 opponents Stony Brook (No. 6) and Michigan (No. 25), but were unable to come up with the wins, falling in both contests before starting Pac-12 Conference play.

The Buffs knew they needed to turn things around if they wanted to play in the postseason, and that is exactly what they did. In the conference opener against No. 15 Stanford on March 8, CU made a statement, defeating the Cardinal 20-13. The contest was also the 100^th game in CU program history. The Buffs followed it up with another win against California (17-11) to sweep the opening weekend of conference play. Stinson was named the conference offensive player of the week for the second straight week as she recorded 12 goals in two games, which included a school record eight against Cal.

CU would wrap-up the first half of league play with wins in two of its three games. The Buffs fell to No. 11 USC at home (11-5), but then rebounded with a victory Arizona State (15-3), which included a shutout of the Sun Devils in the second half. The Buffs also defeated Oregon at home, 15-6, and Stinson picked up her third conference player of the week honor with five goals and one assist.

The Buffs had a break between conference games, so it was the perfect time to host in-state rival Denver. The Pioneers took an 8-2 lead into halftime, but the Buffs rallied in the second half, holding Denver to just one goal. Unfortunately, Colorado was only able to score five goals in the second half, which gave Denver the 9-7 win on March 26.

Entering April, the final month of regular season play, CU was 5-5, which included a 4-1 mark in conference action. The Buffs got the month going with a pair of Pac-12 wins. CU recorded its first win against No. 14 USC in Los Angeles at McAlister Field, a 9-8 decision. Stinson scored off the opening draw and by halftime, the Buffs held a 6-2 advantage. The Trojans cut into the Buffs' lead and were within a goal in the final minute of play. CU's defense held strong and hung on for the monumental win. CU then traveled to Tempe, Ariz., where it picked up 13-7 decision against ASU.

Colorado hosted No. 18 Stanford for the second meeting of the season between the two teams. Unlike the first contest, this one would prove to be a battle and went into overtime. After the first 30 minutes, the score was tied 6-6. With 10:26 left in the second half, the Buffs had pulled away to an 11-7 advantage. However, the Cardinal mounted a comeback and led the Buffs 12-11 with 3:32 remaining. Stinson scored with just under a minute left to tie the game and force overtime. The two sides battled through the extra period and after 2:55 minutes had been played, Stanford netted the game winner.

Despite the tough loss, CU bounced back with a 15-6 win against California two days later, concluding its 2019 home schedule. The Buffs had one final game left in the regular season, and defeated Oregon, 14-8, in Eugene, Ore. on April 19.

With an 8-2 record in Pac-12 play, the Buffs earned a No. 2 seed in the tournament behind USC, which finished 9-1. The Buffs faced Stanford in the semifinals for the third time in 2019. The result was similar to the first time as Colorado controlled the game and recorded a 16-9 victory to advance to the Pac-12 Championship game for the second straight season. The Buffs ultimately fell in the finals to USC, missing out on the NCAA automatic bid for the conference. Stinson, along with teammates Olivia Aschman and Julia Lisella, were named to the Pac-12 All-Tournament Team for their performances during the two games.

But given the Buffs' strong resume, they were able to earn an at-large berth to NCAAs for the third straight season. Their first round opponent was No. 18 Dartmouth. The two teams played a great game. At halftime, the contest was tied up at 7-7. Dartmouth was able to pull ahead by two goals twice, which included a 12-10 lead with 18:10 left in the game. The Buffs outscored Dartmouth 6-1 to finish the game and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive year.

Colorado's second round opponent was the No. 2 overall seed and top-ranked team in the country, Boston College. The game started fairly even. BC scored the first goal, but the Buffs answered with two straight goals from freshman Charlie Rudy, which gave the Buffs their only lead of the game. BC responded with another pair of goals of their own, but senior Samantha Nemirov answered with her first of the contest to even the game at 3-3. Then BC took control of the game, taking a 14-4 lead into halftime. CU played a better second half, scoring five more goals, but BC took the win 21-9.

When all was said and done, CU had a pair of 50-plus-goal scorers for the third straight year. Stinson led the way with 64, which was the 5^th best total in school history, while Nemirov recorded 51, the 11^th best in CU history. Nemirov also set a school record, scoring at least one point in 39 straight games, which started back in 2018. She scored in all 20 games as a junior in 2018 and again in all 19 games as a senior.

The Buffs were ranked in all 14 IWLCA polls during the campaign. Their highest ranking of the season was 14th (Feb. 18), while their lowest was 25th (March 18, 25). CU ended the season ranked 19th.

Awards followed the Buffs during the season and after. Lisella and Stinson were named to the Tewaaraton Watch List at the beginning of the season, while Stinson was selected as one of the top 25 at the end of April.

When the conference postseason awards were announced in May, Stinson was honored as the Pac-12 Attacker of the Year. She was also named to the first team with teammates Aschman and Nemirov. Lisella and Sadie Grozier were selected to the second team. In addition, Stinson was named to the IWLCA All-West/Midwest Region First Team, while Aschman and Nemirov were second team selections.

Colorado University Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Olivia Aschman

Eliza Cahill

Sadie Grozier

Julia Lisella

Samantha Nemirov

Charlie Rudy

Miranda Stinson

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