Contact CU Independent Sports Staff Writer Olivia Butrymovich at olbu3713@colorado.edu.
The University of Colorado’s women’s lacrosse team suffered a discouraging loss during Friday night’s match against one of the nation’s top teams. The Buffs were defeated by No. 6 Notre Dame, on the road, 14-4. It was the first loss of the season for the Buffs.
In the third game of their third season, the Buffs lost a brutal offensive battle to a NCAA champion contender. Before Friday evening’s loss, the Buffs were receiving votes in the NCAA top 25 rankings, after recently defeating conference rivals Denver and Fresno State.
Colorado successfully controlled the Fighting Irish offense during the first 20 minutes of play. The first goal of the game came 21 minutes into the game from the Irish. From there, Notre Dame scored 12 consecutive goals, 5 of which were in the first half of play.
Junior goalie Paige Soensken had 5 saves during the first half, but her defensive efforts were not enough to prevent Notre Dame’s topnotch program from getting in the net. The Buffs trailed 5-0 after the first 30 minutes of play.
The Buffs only had seven shots on goal during the first half and had 12 turnovers, which helped to give the Irish an upper hand.
Colorado was outscored seven more times at the start of the second half. After being held scoreless for nearly 47 minutes, Buffs’ junior attacker Cali Castagnola scored her seventh goal of the season, and the team’s first against Notre Dame.
Colorado went on a three-goal streak after Catagnola’s initial score. However, with five minutes left in the half, the Irish scored two more goals to make things 14-4.
A last ditch effort by junior attacker Johnna Fusco gave the Buffs the last score in the final two minutes of the match, but that was not enough to upset one of the best teams in the country on their home turf.
The Buffs’ top scorer was Fusco, with two goals and four shots on goal. Sophomore attacker Carly Cox had the fourth goal for CU.
Soensken closed out the match with 10 saves. The Buffs had only 13 total shots on goal throughout the hour of play. The Irish dominated the game offensively, registering an impressive 32 shots on goal.
In the end, the Buffs were ultimately outplayed. The Fighting Irish moved to 4-0 while Colorado dropped to 2-1. Before the loss, Colorado topped the Mountain Pacific Sports federation conference during the early season of play, but Friday’s ugly loss could very well change things.
The Buffs will be on the road for one last game before opening their season in Boulder. Colorado takes on Marquette this Sunday at noon in Milwaukee, WI.
