Colorado
7-3(2-1)
San Diego State
1-11(0-3)
No. 22 Colorado Handles San Diego State at Home
March 30, 2024 | Lacrosse
BOULDER — Ten separate scorers and eleven goals for Colorado in the first quarter led the Buffaloes to a commanding 17-8 win over the San Diego State Aztecs Saturday afternoon at Kittredge Field.
The Buffs earn their second win in a row and move to 7-3 (2-1 Pac-12) on the year, while SDSU falls to 1-11 (0-3 Pac-12) and drops their tenth game in a row.
"Good effort from the team today," head coach Ann Elliott Whidden stated. "Coming off spring break we talked about just being focused and no casualness. We are continuing to focus on playing 60 minutes and being consistent and in control. We got off to a quick start and that allowed us to control game. Proud of team for that. Getting conference win was big for us today, everyone is equal and everyone is so important."
Colorado put this game on ice early on with a whopping 11 goals in the first quarter. Seven different CU players scored: Hritzuk, Pisani, Assini, Gardner, Dodd, Zimmerman, and Kennedy.
Madeline Pisani and Averi Gardner combined for eight of Colorado's 17 goals in the contest. Gardner recorded her first career goal the previous game against Cal, then tallied a career-high four goals at home against SDSU the following week.
Named to Inside Lacrosses' Mid-Season All-American Honorable Mention earlier in the week, Pisani scored four times on Saturday, and extends her conference lead with 36 goals on the season. She has scored three or more times in nine of the 10 games on the season. This was her sixth game of four or more goals.
Teagan Ryan and Avery Matthews both earned their first collegiate goal in the second half of the game. Ryan, the freshman from New York, scored on an assist from Lily Assini and put the Buffaloes up 13-2. Matthews, a senior, earned her first career goal with CU and was the 17th and final goal of the afternoon for Colorado.
Sydney Zimmerman was the only other player than Pisani or Gardner for Colorado to record multiple scores in the contest. Zimmerman scored back-to-back goals in the third and fourth minute of the first period. After a career-high three goals in the game last week, she has now scored seven times in the last three games and has had two or more scores in each one.
Lily Assini had a team-high three assists on Saturday, and it is the second time this year she has had three or more assists in a game.
The reigning Pac-12 DPOTW Jess Peluso wreaked havoc on the field, with yet another three caused turnovers and ground balls. It is the fifth time this season Peluso has had three or more caused turnovers in the game, which leads the conference.
"Loved that we got to get everyone in game," said coach Whidden. "This group works so hard at practice, commits to their roles and challenges each other. Was awesome to see that pay off in different ways. Proud of all of them and what they do for each other."
HOW IT HAPPENED
There was no stopping the Buffaloes right out of the gates, as they scored the first six goals between the two squads over the first 10 minutes of play. The top two scorers for CU, Pisani and Hritzuk, got things started and gained a 2-0 lead with 11:25 on the clock in the first.
Assini, Dodd, Gardner, and Pisani would all find the back of the net over the next five minutes, quickly putting CU up 6-0. Nikki Seven broke the scoring drought for SDSU, making it a 6-1 game with 4:49 remaining in the period. Zimmerman posted back-to-back scores in a 27 second span, to extend the Colorado lead even further.
Goals from Gardner, Kennedy, and Pisani in the final three minutes of the first quarter would put the Buffs up by double digits, 11-1.
With much of the action occurring in the first period, the Buffs would out-score the Aztecs in the second and third quarters by just one score. Pisani earned her fourth goal of the game to start the second quarter, while Ashley Stokes and Teagan Ryan slapped in their first scores of the game for CU shortly after. Colorado headed into the break with a 14-3 lead.
The Aztecs managed to out-score the Buffs 5-3 overall in the second half, but with a running clock in favor of CU, it wouldn't be enough. Colorado saw two more scores from Gardner and the first collegiate goal from Avery Matthews in the third quarter, which would be enough to wrap up a conference win at home.
GOALS SCORERS
Madeline Pisani - 4
Averi Gardner- 4
Sydney Zimmerman - 2
Eve Hritzuk - 1
Lily Assini - 1
Emily Dodd - 1
Rachel Kennedy - 1
Ashley Stokes - 1
Teagan Ryan- 1
Avery Matthews - 1
FINAL QUOTE
"This is a big stretch for us coming up," coach Whidden said postgame. "3 games in 8 days, including today. Important for us to stay focused and one thing at a time."
UP NEXT
The Buffs will hit the road take on in-state rival Denver, on Wednesday April 3, at 7 p.m. MST. They will then head to California over the weekend to play UC Davis on Saturday April 6, at 2 p.m. MST.
SOCIAL MEDIA COVERAGE
We are having fun ??#GoBuffs pic.twitter.com/kPAmfELJC4
— Colorado Buffaloes Lacrosse (@CUBuffsWLax) March 30, 2024
Have. A. Day.
— Colorado Buffaloes Lacrosse (@CUBuffsWLax) March 30, 2024
Averi Gardner has four goals today ?????#GoBuffs pic.twitter.com/fVxVJqRQUc
Career Goal #1 for Teagan Ryan ??
— Colorado Buffaloes Lacrosse (@CUBuffsWLax) March 30, 2024
?? @Pac12Network #GoBuffs pic.twitter.com/Jh2mwNi3nk
