Head coach Whidden congratulates the team after the victory.
Photo by: Casey Paul
Buffs Earn Program’s 100th Win With Victory Over No. 21 Stanford
March 17, 2023 | Lacrosse
Head coach Ann Elliott Whidden also gathers her 100th career victory.
BOULDER - Colorado lacrosse defeated No. 21 Stanford 17-15 for the program's 100th win here Friday afternoon at Kittredge Field. The victory also marks the 100th career win for head coach Ann Elliott Whidden.
"For this team coming in 1-4, and knowing we're starting conference play, how important it is for us to be 1-0 [in conference] is more important than everything," Whidden commented after the game.
Offensively, the Buffs found success through eight different players scoring at least one goal. Sam McGee earned five goals while Morgan Pence and Charlie Rudy each put away three.
Despite the upset, Coach Whidden commented that there's still room for improvement for the squad moving forward.
"We made a couple of decisions that I think cost us a little bit. A play here, a play there, a few too many turnovers, so we know we have to clean things up," Whidden said. "Overall though, we were down by three goals or so a couple of times, and we were able to respond as a team out of those moments and get ourselves back in the game. At the end of the day, our players on offense and defense made the little plays that turned into big plays, and that's huge for us."
Stanford earned 20 draw controls compared to the Buffs' 15, but Colorado put forward a strong defensive front to create four caused turnovers and to pick up 12 ground balls. Grace Donnelly also had an impressive game with 11 saves for a .423 save percentage.
Whidden commented that the team will need to mentally prepare for another hard matchup against Cal this Sunday.
"This was obviously a tough game. I thought we played hard for a long time with all the goals. So, our players will have to rest and recover obviously, and we need to get mentally prepared for Cal because we might not be able to do it as much physically," Whidden commented. "For us now, it's the only thing that matters. The biggest thing is that all these games in the conference count equally. They all count equally when you're 2-4 as well. So we've got to keep digging ourselves out of this hole."
HOW IT HAPPENED
Stanford found the back of the net first, scoring in less than 45 seconds into the game. CU's Pence tied up the game three minutes later on a free position goal. Stanford then scored three unanswered goals to take a 4-1 lead. Coach Whidden utilized her first timeout, and the Buffs responded with two of their own goals to trail 4-3 heading into the second quarter.
Entering the second, all the momentum was with the Buffs. Rudy tied things up for the Buffs with a goal after Liz Phillips won the draw control. The Buffs then put away three more unanswered goals to put CU up 7-4. During the scoring run, Rudy put away her 20th goal of the season. Stanford's Katy Gilbert finally stalled Colorado's momentum by scoring on a free position attempt, but three minutes later Pence earned her second goal of the game to put the Buffs back up 8-5. The lead wouldn't last though as Stanford scored three goals in less than three minutes to tie things up 8-8 entering halftime.
The Cardinal continued to have strong offense in the third quarter and notched two goals before Sam McGee scored on a player-up free position attempt. For the rest of the quarter, the two teams continued to trade goals back and fourth. First year Mary Carson contributed her first career goal to help the Buffs only trail 14-13 entering the fourth.
The excitement continued in the fourth quarter as McGee put Colorado on the board first with her fourth goal of the game. Phillips followed up with a goal of her own, earning her 50th career point.
However, McGee wasn't done yet. She earned her fifth goal of the game to put the Buffs up 16-14. Pence scored Colorado's final goal with five minutes left on the clock to put the Buffs at 17-14. Tough defense and several saves by Donnelly held off the Cardinal offense for almost the rest of the quarter until Stanford finally managed to find the back of the net with one minute left. However, Stanford couldn't overcome their point deficit and the Buffs took the win 17-15.
UP NEXT
Colorado lacrosse will be back at Kittredge field March 19 to play Cal at noon. During the game, the Buffs will celebrate 50 years of Title IX and honor Women's History Month.
"For this team coming in 1-4, and knowing we're starting conference play, how important it is for us to be 1-0 [in conference] is more important than everything," Whidden commented after the game.
Offensively, the Buffs found success through eight different players scoring at least one goal. Sam McGee earned five goals while Morgan Pence and Charlie Rudy each put away three.
Despite the upset, Coach Whidden commented that there's still room for improvement for the squad moving forward.
"We made a couple of decisions that I think cost us a little bit. A play here, a play there, a few too many turnovers, so we know we have to clean things up," Whidden said. "Overall though, we were down by three goals or so a couple of times, and we were able to respond as a team out of those moments and get ourselves back in the game. At the end of the day, our players on offense and defense made the little plays that turned into big plays, and that's huge for us."
Stanford earned 20 draw controls compared to the Buffs' 15, but Colorado put forward a strong defensive front to create four caused turnovers and to pick up 12 ground balls. Grace Donnelly also had an impressive game with 11 saves for a .423 save percentage.
Whidden commented that the team will need to mentally prepare for another hard matchup against Cal this Sunday.
"This was obviously a tough game. I thought we played hard for a long time with all the goals. So, our players will have to rest and recover obviously, and we need to get mentally prepared for Cal because we might not be able to do it as much physically," Whidden commented. "For us now, it's the only thing that matters. The biggest thing is that all these games in the conference count equally. They all count equally when you're 2-4 as well. So we've got to keep digging ourselves out of this hole."
HOW IT HAPPENED
Stanford found the back of the net first, scoring in less than 45 seconds into the game. CU's Pence tied up the game three minutes later on a free position goal. Stanford then scored three unanswered goals to take a 4-1 lead. Coach Whidden utilized her first timeout, and the Buffs responded with two of their own goals to trail 4-3 heading into the second quarter.
Entering the second, all the momentum was with the Buffs. Rudy tied things up for the Buffs with a goal after Liz Phillips won the draw control. The Buffs then put away three more unanswered goals to put CU up 7-4. During the scoring run, Rudy put away her 20th goal of the season. Stanford's Katy Gilbert finally stalled Colorado's momentum by scoring on a free position attempt, but three minutes later Pence earned her second goal of the game to put the Buffs back up 8-5. The lead wouldn't last though as Stanford scored three goals in less than three minutes to tie things up 8-8 entering halftime.
The Cardinal continued to have strong offense in the third quarter and notched two goals before Sam McGee scored on a player-up free position attempt. For the rest of the quarter, the two teams continued to trade goals back and fourth. First year Mary Carson contributed her first career goal to help the Buffs only trail 14-13 entering the fourth.
The excitement continued in the fourth quarter as McGee put Colorado on the board first with her fourth goal of the game. Phillips followed up with a goal of her own, earning her 50th career point.
However, McGee wasn't done yet. She earned her fifth goal of the game to put the Buffs up 16-14. Pence scored Colorado's final goal with five minutes left on the clock to put the Buffs at 17-14. Tough defense and several saves by Donnelly held off the Cardinal offense for almost the rest of the quarter until Stanford finally managed to find the back of the net with one minute left. However, Stanford couldn't overcome their point deficit and the Buffs took the win 17-15.
UP NEXT
Colorado lacrosse will be back at Kittredge field March 19 to play Cal at noon. During the game, the Buffs will celebrate 50 years of Title IX and honor Women's History Month.
Team Stats
STAN
COLO
Shots
37
32
Turnovers
12
10
Caused Turnovers
1
5
Draw Controls
20
15
Free-Position Shots
11
4
Ground Balls
8
12
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
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