Colorado Set To Open Home Slate Against Harvard

BOULDER — The 18^th ranked University of Colorado lacrosse team will finally get to play its home opener this Friday, Feb. 21, against Harvard, before turning around to face No. 14 Michigan on Sunday, Feb. 23, in Ann Arbor, Mich.

The Buffs (0-1) will host the Crimson (1-0) in the first-ever match-up between the two schools at Kittredge Field on Friday at 4 p.m. After the game, CU will sign post-game autographs.

It will be a quick turnaround for CU as the Buffs will head to Michigan (1-1) for their fifth meeting against the Wolverines. That game is set for 10 a.m. MT/12 p.m. ET start at U-M Lacrosse Stadium. This will be the second top-20 match-up for the Buffs in three games.

The game against Harvard will be streamed online at CUBuffs.com, as well as on Facebook. Michigan will stream its game on BTN+, which does require a subscription. Links to both streams, as well as live stats, will be available at CUBuffs.com.

ABOUT THE BUFFS: Colorado has played one game this season, which was a one-goal loss (10-11) to then-No. 14 Florida in Gainesville. In that contest, Sadie Grozier scored four goals to lead CU and had six shots on goal. Junior Zoe Lawless not only recorded her first collegiate goal, but her first collegiate hat trick with three goals on five shots. Three other Buffs scored goals in the contest: Chloe Willard, Audrey Kingdom and Charlie Rudy.
The Buffs also had six assists in the effort, including a career-high of three from Liz Phillips. Jen Mistretta added two, while Bailey Hawkins had the other. Phillips led the Buffs in draw controls with five.
Defensively CU played well. The Buffs forced nine turnovers with Anna Collawn and Eliza Cahill each recording two. In goal, Julia Lisella made 13 saves on 24 shots for a 54.2 save percentage. She made seven saves in the first half, followed by six in the second half.

ABOUT THE CRIMSON: Harvard is 1-0 to start the season after defeating Niagara 15-3. Tessa Queri and Grace Hulslander each recorded four goals for HU. Hulsander added an assist for a team-high five points. Other multi-goal scores include Madison Conklin (2) and Maddie Barkate (2).
Grace Rotondo recorded the win with three saves on five shots in 55:05 minutes. Harvard controlled the draw, winning 18 of 20, had the shot advantage (34-12) and converted on all six of its free-position attempts. HU recorded seven caused turnovers with Shea Jenkins and Tate Green each picking up two.

ABOUT THE WOLVERINES: Michigan is ranked 14th in the latest poll after starting the season 1-1. They defeated Jacksonville 10-8 on the road, but fell to USC, 10-8, in Los Angeles.
Caitlyn Muir leads the team with seven points (three goals and four assists), but Maddie Kane has a team-best four goals. The Wolverines are averaging 9.00 goals per game while allowing 9.00 goals per game. Arielle Weissman has played all 120:00 minutes for UM and has recorded 16 saves in that time for a .471 save percentage. UM has the advantage against its opponents on the draw, winning 23 of 39, as well as a slight lead in shots (53-50).

THE SERIES VS. MICHIGAN: Colorado owns a 3-1 record against Michigan, which includes a 2-0 record in Ann Arbor, Mich.
The Buffs won the first three meetings, including an OT win in the first contest (14-13) on March 22, 2015, in Michigan. CU took the second meeting, again in Michigan, 11-4, in 2016.
The third time the two faced off was the season opener in 2018 in Jacksonville, Fla. The Buffs defeated UM 20-11. Michigan recorded its first win against CU last season on Feb. 24, which was an 8-6 win at Kittredge Field.

UP NEXT: The Buffs will be back in action March 6 as they host the Oregon Ducks at Kittredge Field at 2 p.m. to open Pac-12 Conference play. They will also host Coastal Carolina on March 8 at 12 p.m.

HOME GAME INFORMATION: All of Colorado's home games will be played at Kittredge Field and admission is free, as is parking in Lot 416. Overflow parking is available in the RG lot on the north side of the CU Events Center.

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Players Mentioned

Eliza Cahill

Anna Collawn

Sadie Grozier

Bailey Hawkins

Audrey Kingdom

Zoe Lawless

Julia Lisella

Jen Mistretta

Liz Phillips

Charlie Rudy

Chloe Willard