Buffaloes Cruise Past Oregon In Conference Opener

BOULDER – The 24^th-ranked Colorado lacrosse team opened up Pac-12 Conference play with a 21-5 victory against Oregon on Friday afternoon at Kittredge Field.

"It's huge for us. It is our first conference game and every conference game is important for us and our goals this season," head coach Ann Elliott Whidden said. "So to come out here and to be able to bounce back is really important for this team and hopefully it will give us a little more confidence moving forward."

The impressive win comes after the Buffs suffered a 20-7 defeat at No. 14 Michigan on Feb. 23. In that contest, only four Buffs recorded a point, but Friday was a different story with 13 different players picking up at least one point. Charlie Rudy and Chloe Willard led CU with seven points apiece. Rudy scored four goals and had three assists, but it was Willard's day as she tallied a career-high five goals and added two assists.

CU had nine players combine for 21 goals, while eight combined for 14 assists. The 14 assists rank second in CU single-game history.

"For us to be successful, we need everyone playing together and doing their roles and helping each other out there," Whidden said. "I thought today defensively we did a good job of that. We were a lot more active down there on the defensive end which we need to be. Offensively, I thought we did a good job. We had a lot of assists today, a lot of different players contributing and that's huge for us moving forward. We need that."

Colorado improves to 2-2 with the win and starts conference play 1-0, while Oregon moves to 1-5 overall (0-1 Pac-12).

WHAT HAPPENED: The Buffaloes wasted no time as Rudy scored her first goal just 65 seconds into the contest. CU would score three more times in the next three minutes with goals from Sadie Grozier, Kate Burnside and Rudy again to take a 4-0 lead.

The Ducks stopped CU's run with their first marker at 25:35 on a free-position attempt, but Liz Phillips responded with her first of the game 11 seconds later to put the Buffs up 5-1.

UO would score next, converting on another free-position attempt, but then Colorado would string together five straight goals, including Pearl Schwartz's first collegiate goal, to increase its lead to 10-2. Both teams would add one more marker before halftime.

The Buffs picked up where they left off in the second half as Willard found the back of the next 24 seconds into the period. Including Willard's first goal of the half, CU would record six straight goals in the first 13 minutes of the second half, which gave the Buffaloes a demanding 17-3 advantage.

Halfway through the second half, Oregon's Lillian Stump scored her first of the game, but CU answered with another four consecutive markers to bring the score to 21-4.

The Ducks tallied one final goal in the last two minutes to get to five goals for the game.

"We had two weeks off [after Michigan] so we knew we had to practice hard and come out and get a win to get back on our feet," Rudy said. "We got a lot of momentum in the first half, so we just built off of that. I think everyone is feeling good about this and going into Coastal Carolina. We are feeling pretty good and need to get another win."

KEY STATISTICS: The Buffs played a well-rounded game, but one of the key places they saw success was in the draw circle. CU recorded 19 draw controls, 10 from Kate Burnside, while Oregon had just nine. Colorado also outshot the Ducks 40-12 and led in ground balls (21-10). The Buffaloes also played well on defense, holding UO to just nine shots on goal the entire game.

NOTABLE:

Pearl Schwartz scored her first collegiate goals in the win.
Bailey Hawkins also tallied her first goal for the Buffs.
Annika Nissen had two goals in the game, a career-best.
For the third straight game, Charlie Rudy has recorded three or more goals.
Rudy, along with Sadie Grozier and Liz Phillips, have scored in all four games this season.
Chloe Willard recorded a career high with seven points. She also had a career-best five goals.
Jen Mistretta and Rudy recorded career-highs in assists. Mistretta had four, while Rudy had three.
Colorado is 36-0 when recording 15 or more goals in a game. This was the ninth time in program history the Buffs recorded 20 or more goals.
When opponents are held to five to nine goals, CU is 41-5.
The Buffs are now 5-2 in conference openers
CU has never lost a game to Oregon and is now 11-0 all-time
Colorado recorded 35 points in the win, which is the second most points in a game. The record is 36.
The Buffs' 21 goals is tied for the fifth most goals in a game. That record is 24.

TEAM LEADERS:

Colorado

Points: 35

Goals: 21

Assists: 14

Draw Controls: 19

Ground Balls: 21

Saves: 4

Oregon

Points: 7

Goals: 5

Assists: 2

Draw Controls: 9

Ground Balls: 10

Saves: 10

UP NEXT: Colorado will host Coastal Carolina on Sunday, March 8, at 12 p.m. here at Kittredge Field.

QUOTES:
Ann Elliott Whidden
On a win like this coming off a tough loss to Michigan
"I think it's huge for us, it is our first conference game and every conference game is important for us and our goals this season. So to come out here and to be able to bounce back is really important for this team and hopefully it will give us a little more confidence moving forward."

On the overall great team effort
"For us to be successful we need everyone playing together and doing their roles and helping each other out there. I thought today defensively we did a good job of that. We were a lot more active down there on the defensive end which we need to be. Offensively, I thought we did a good job. We had a lot of assists today, a lot of different players contributing and that's huge for us moving forward. We need that."

On Charlie Stepping Up Offensively
"I mean obviously Charlie is in her sophomore season and we are young on offense in general so I think Charlie just being a leader and really stepping up for us is huge for us to be successful this season. We have talked to her a lot about that and our other attackers, so to see her come out and play a really good game and execute much better than the first few games is good for us."

On Pearl's First Two Goals
"Definitely exciting. I think that we had a lot of players that got some time out there and obviously Pearl had a big role for us today and has been doing great in practice. So to see all of her hard work and commitment pay off from practice in a game is really exciting."

On the increase in assists and moving the ball better than in the past
"A big focus for us is just being more dynamic on offense. We have struggled a little bit this season here and there in terms of our offensive production so to see them come out and show that we can score a few different ways and have different players that can score is really important for us as we move forward."

Charlie Rudy
On how this win feels following the Michigan loss
"We had two weeks off so we knew we had to practice hard and come out and get a win to get back on our feet. We got a lot of momentum in the first half, so we just built off of that. I think everyone is feeling good about this and going into Coastal Carolina. We are feeling pretty good and need to get another win."

On Filling Voids on Offense This Season
"I think that a lot of our younger players are stepping up, especially on attack. We have a lot of young people so I think that everyone is taking their opportunities and capitalizing on them. Overall it is a team effort on offense."

Pearl Schwartz
On scoring her first goal
"That was really fun. It is just a reminder that it is the whole team and winning the game and every goal and every play is a buildup of a collective effort that the team puts in together."

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Team Stats

Chloe Willard

Charlie Rudy

Zoe Lawless

Bailey Hawkins

Players Mentioned

Kate Burnside

Sadie Grozier

Bailey Hawkins

Jen Mistretta

Annika Nissen

Liz Phillips

Charlie Rudy

Pearl Schwartz

Chloe Willard

Players Mentioned

Kate Burnside

Sadie Grozier

Bailey Hawkins

Jen Mistretta

Annika Nissen

Liz Phillips

Charlie Rudy

Pearl Schwartz

Chloe Willard