Colorado University Athletics

Lacrosse Battles No. 15 Stanford In MPSF Semifinals

Lacrosse Battles No. 15 Stanford In MPSF Semifinals
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Notes vs. Stanford

QUICKLY: The University of Colorado lacrosse team (11-6) advanced to the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation semifinals for the second straight season after defeating San Diego State, 15-6 on Thursday in the first round at Peter Barton Stadium on the University of Denver campus. The No. 4 seed Buffaloes will now face top-seeded and 15th-ranked Stanford on Friday, May 1 at 4 p.m. MDT.

INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITIES: For those members of the media wishing to interview the womenGÇÖs lacrosse team during the season, please contact Assistant Sports Information Director/Lacrosse Contact Ashley Braun at (303) 492-7525 or ashley.braun@colorado.edu.

TOURNAMENT CENTRAL: An All-Session Pass that includes all five games is available for $25, while individual game tickets are $9 for an adult and $5 for students with a valid ID or for youth. Free parking is available in lots 103 and 108. For more information, including links to ticket purchasing and directions, please visit http://bit.ly/1zqIQkl. All games will be televised on Altitude or fans can watch a live stream by purchasing a monthly subscription to PioneerVision at http://bit.ly/1duiTGp.

SCOUTING THE CARDINAL: Stanford finished the regular season 9-0 against MPSF opponents and 13-2 overall to finish first in the conference. The Cardinal is looking for its  ninth tournament championship in 12 years. Lucy Dikeou, a Denver native, leads the Cardinal, not only on the attack, but also on defense. She is currently first on the team in goals, points, draw controls, groundballs and caused turnovers. Eleven players have scored at least 10 goals for a team that averages just over 16 goals per game. Stanford placed four players on the All-MPSF First Team and a pair on the All-Second Team. Goalkeeper Allie DaCar, a second-team selection owns a 12-2 record in the cage for the Cardinal this season, where she has made 66 saves and has recorded a .377 save percentage.

LAST TIME OUT: Colorado defeated San Diego State in dominant fashion, 15-6 in the MPSF quarterfinals on Thursday night. The Buffs used a 10-0 run that spanned just over 23 minutes to pull away from the Aztecs and secure the victory. CU was led by freshman Darby Kiernan, who scored five goals for the third time this season. Sophomores Johnna Fusco and Katie Macleay  also each had hat tricks. CU improved to 4-0 all-time against SDSU and 2-1 in postseason play.

COLORADO VS. STANFORD: FridayGÇÖs game will mark the fourth meeting between the Cardinal and Buffs and second straight year in which the two teams face off in the semifinals of the MPSF tournament. The Buffs are 0-3 all-time against Stanford, falling twice in the regular season and once in the postseason. In their first-ever meeting, CU dropped the contest 13-5 at Stanford. The two teams met in the 2014 MPSF Tournament semifinals, where Stanford took the contest, 15-6. Earlier this season, (April 5) the Buffs played its closest game against the Cardinal (ranked 13 at the time), but were edged 16-14. Despite the outcome it was CUGÇÖs best game against a ranked opponent in its young two-year history.

BUFFS IN THE POSTSEASON: With its win on Thursday in the quarterfinals, Colorado now owns a 2-1 postseason record, earning MPSF tournament bids in each of its first two campaigns as a Division I program and advancing to the semifinals both times. Last year in the BuffsGÇÖ inaugural season, they advanced to the conference tournament semifinals as the No. 3 seed before falling to Stanford. In the quarterfinals, CU defeated San Diego State, 9-8 in sudden-victory fashion behind Johnna FuscoGÇÖs free-position goal. Colorado faced Stanford in the second round and was eliminated as the Cardinal defeated the Buffs 15-6.

ALL MPSF: All-MPSF lacrosse selections were announced on Wednesday and the Buffs once again had a strong presence. Goalkeeper Paige Soenksen and attacker Johnna Fusco were each named to the All-MPSF First Team for a second time in their careers. Midfielder Marie Moore earned a spot on the All-MPSF Second Team for a second straight season and defender Sarah Lautman joined Moore on the second team for the first time in her career. Colorado finished the regular season taking home eight MPSF Player of the Week honors, sweeping all three awards on two different occasions. CU was led by Soenksen, who earned the Defensive Player of the Week award four times. Moore was named Offensive Player of the Week once and freshman Darby Kiernan also earned the award along with Rookie of the Week honors one time. Kiernan was the only freshman to be named Offensive Player of the Week this season. Blair Sisk, also playing in her first collegiate season won Rookie of the Week honors once time.

HATRICKS ALL AROUND: Eight Buffaloes have recorded hat tricks this season. Johnna Fusco and Darby Kiernan lead the pack with ten. Freshman Blair Sisk and Marie Moore each have four. Sophomores Katie Macleay has three and Cali Castagnola has tallied a pair. Amanda Salvadore along with freshman Taylor Oliver have one.

PROGRAM FIRSTS: In the BuffaloesGÇÖ game against Presbyterian on March 2, CU turned in a record setting performance for the black and gold, posting the largest margin of victory (19), allowed the fewest number of goals (0), shots (5), assists (0) and points (0) by an opponent and tallied their first shutout in program history. The Buffs also recorded the second most points in a single-game (25) and tied a program record with 19 goals.

FRESHMEN TRI-FECTA: In their first collegiate season playing for the black and gold, Carly Cox, Darby Kiernan and Blair Sisk have made an immediate impact, each contributing in a variety of ways for the Buffs. Kiernan has started 16 games and is first on the team in scoring with 50 goals and has a team-best 36 groundballs. She has ten hat tricks this season and three games where she has scored five goals, most recently against SDSU in the MPSF quarterfinals. She is also finished the regular season as the leagueGÇÖs second-highest scorer, averaging 2.81 goals per contest. Sisk has been another key addition to the 2015 roster. The midfielder from Greenwood Village, Colo. has started 16 of 17 games and is one of six Buffs in double-digit scoring. She has 26 goals, which is tied for third on the team. She also boasts an impressive .825 SOG percentage, as 47 of her 57 shots have been put on frame. Attacker Carly Cox has also started 16 of 17 contests and has a single season record 21 assists while tallying seven goals and recording 18 groundballs. She also has recorded at least one point in all but one game this season and on April 17 at St. MaryGÇÖs, Cox tallied a career-high four assists.

FIERCE FUSCO: Sophomore Johnna Fusco continues to be a main contributor on the attack each week. She is second on the team with 43 goals and 51 points. Fusco leads the Buffs in shots (96), shots on goal (77) and has a team-leading 20 free-position scores. She finished the regular season as the fourth-leading scorer, averaging 2.50 goals per game.

STELLAR SOENKSEN: Goalkeeper Paige Soenksen has been solid between the posts for CU all season. She has made 138 saves. She led the conference with an impressive .491 save percentage at the end of the regular season and averaged 8.19 saves per game, also tops in the MPSF.

MULTI-GOAL PERFORMANCES: Ten different Buffs have recorded at least one multi-goal game in 2015. Darby Kiernan has 14 and Johnna Fusco has 12. Blair Sisk has nine, Marie Moore with seven, Katie Macleay has seven, Cali Castagnola with three, Amanda Salvadore and Tori Link has two, and Carly Cox and Taylor Oliver have one multi-goal performance apiece.

SCORING STREAKS: Four Buffs have active scoring streaks on the line heading into FridayGÇÖs game. Fusco has scored in 21 straight games dating back to last season. Kiernan has scored in 16 consecutive contests. Marie Moore is on a 12 game scoring streak and Tori Link has scored in the last three contests.

NEW COMPETITION: Colorado faced six first-time opponents this year: Marquette, Presbyterian, Northwestern, Michigan, Boston College and UMass Lowell. The Buffs were 4-2 against them, with wins over Marquette. Michigan, Presbyterian and UMass Lowell.

NEXT UP: A win on Friday would allow the Buffs to advance to their first-ever MPSF Tournament Championship to face either USC or Denver on Sunday, May 3 at 11 a.m. MDT.