Colorado
3-2
Michigan
6-0
No. 19 Colorado Falls to No. 6 Michigan
March 02, 2024 | Lacrosse
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The No. 19 Colorado Buffaloes lacrosse team dropped Saturday's contest to the No. 6 Michigan Wolverines, by a score of 13-8.
The Buffs move to 4-2 on the season while Michigan is now a perfect 6-0. Both of Colorado's losses have now come against two top-10 ranked teams, No. 4 Northwestern and No. 6 Michigan.
"Difficult outcome for us today," head coach Ann Elliott Whidden said. "Despite score, we responded in many ways from Thursday. We didn't play well Thursday outside of the draws. Today we made adjustments we needed too offensively and defensively, we competed for 60 minutes and had some good moments on both ends. We just did not make enough plays and have enough opportunities."
Colorado scored the same amount of goals (5) as Michigan did in the second half, but being outscored 8-3 in the first half of play is what led to a Wolverine win.
The top-two scorers on the year for CU, Madeline Pisani and Eve Hritzuk, accounted for seven of their teams' eight goals on the afternoon. Senior Ashley Stokes was the other scorer for the Buffaloes, finding the back of the net in the third quarter.
Pisani continues her streak of scoring three or more times, and has done so in all six games for the Buffaloes this season. She has 24 goals overall, still atop the leader board for the Pac-12 Conference.
Her 24 goals on the season are the most goals scored by a CU player in the the first six games of a single season. The previous-high was 23 goals scored by Charlie Rudy in the first six contests of the 2021 season.
Hritzuk tallies her third hat trick of the season, her previous game of three or more goals came against Northwestern at home.
Michigan's stout defensive performance limited what the Buffs could do on offense. Pisani and Hritzuk each recorded at least three goals, but it wouldn't be enough for the Buffaloes.
Midfielder Jess Peluso had a career-high four caused turnovers, bringing her season total to 12, extending her conference lead to a comfortable margin. She also contributed two ground balls
to the cause.
"We have a lot of lacrosse ahead of us, we have to stay focused and commit to getting just that much better," Whidden stated. "If each of us, myself and staff included, get just that much better we will find a lot of success moving forward. We will focus on that this week as we get ready for Marquette and to be back on the road."
INSIDE THE SERIES
Saturday's matchup was the seventh all-time between the two programs, and with a Michigan win, they now hold a 4-3 edge over the Buffaloes in the series. It is the first win at home for MU over Colorado since the 2020 season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
It was a defensive standoff through the first quarter, with Eve Hritzuk scoring the lone goal for the Buffaloes, while the Wolverines scored twice thanks to Katherine Merrifield and Annabelle Burke to hold the lead after one.
None other than Madeline Pisani tied the game up for CU, with a score at the 13:58 mark in the second quarter. It would be all Michigan after the Pisani goal, as the Wolverines would go on a 5-0 run until the final minute of the second quarter.
Hritzuk slapped in her thirteenth of the year, giving the Buffs their third goal of the game. UM scored once more to enter halftime with an 8-3 advantage.
Pisani kicked things off in the second half, converting her second goal of the game to inch closer. The Wolverines then found an offensive groove similar to the prior quarter, scoring three times over the final eight minutes of the third quarter.
Stokes joined the fun for Colorado, scoring with 3:49 left in the third. Pisani added on her third of the game to bring the Buffs back within five after three periods of play.
Hritzuk brought the Michigan lead to just four, after a free-position goal at the 12:45 mark in the fourth quarter. The Wolverines answered back quickly with back-to-back goals to really put the game out of reach.
Pisani would put the ball in the net once more, for her fourth of the game, with five minutes left in regulation. Michigan with a comfortable 13-8 lead, would run out the remaining time on the clock to secure the home win.
FINAL QUOTE
"This team has a lot of heart," Buffaloes coach Ann Elliott Whidden said. "I challenged them yesterday and they responded today. It didn't show on scoreboard and that's hard sometimes for players to fully understand, but if we stay committed and continue to have the fight we have shown all season and today, good things will happen as we go. This is a great group and I look forward to us getting back to work this week."
UP NEXT
The Buffaloes will be on the road next week, when they take on Marquette in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
SOCIAL MEDIA COVERAGE
Eve with her THIRD of the game!
— Colorado Buffaloes Lacrosse (@CUBuffsWLax) March 2, 2024
Inching closer.
?? @BigTenPlus pic.twitter.com/UjpJV5HPeq
The ?????????????????? ??
— Colorado Buffaloes Lacrosse (@CUBuffsWLax) March 2, 2024
Madeline ties it back up at 2!#GoBuffs pic.twitter.com/R5zB8hgrhC
