BOULDER – The Colorado club men’s lacrosse team’s spring season is in full swing.
Through five games the Buffs were 3-2 and won three straight contests including an overtime win, 11-10, over Arizona State. They returned to the friendly confines of Kittredge Field with a match against the Virginia Tech Hokies.
Virginia Tech came into this game as the No. 1 team with a 7-0 record and dominating their competition. The Hokies were the national runner-ups last season, losing in the national title game to Concordia University-Irvine. Trying to avenge their defeat in the title game, they headed into Boulder looking for more domination.
Colorado was hungry for a win, though. They played tough and physical and while the Hokies scored in the first thirty seconds, that did not discourage the Buffaloes. CU tied the game at one in a defensive first quarter and was able to hang around with Virginia Tech. It wasn’t until the second quarter that the upset took shape.
Colorado grabbed their first lead of the night when Jake McIntyre scored his first crossing in front of the net, sniping it past goaltender Andrew Wickman. They would not lose the lead for the rest of the game. A third goal became a fourth goal. Then, Virginia Tech fought back with two goals from Aidan Smith, who came into the game with 24 goals in just seven games.
With the Buffaloes hanging on to a one-goal lead, they got some insurance from Weston Keller, and then McIntyre brought the lead back to three with a dazzling display of footwork, scoring as he fell to the ground after weaving through two defenders.
Colorado would lead 7-4 at the break as they had thoroughly outplayed the Hokies up to that point. But they knew the job was not finished.
They came out with a fire in the third as they scored four in the first five and a half minutes to bring the lead up to six.
The Buffaloes would hold off some resistance from the Hokies to lead 14-7 at the end of the third. A seven-goal lead seemed insurmountable. But, it was the number-one team in the country.
Colorado scored just once in the fourth quarter and Virginia Tech finally got things together and tried to storm their way back into the game. They would cut the lead to three before CU goalie Chandler Nayman made two huge stops to effectively seal the upset for the Buffaloes.
As Colorado put the finishing touches on the upset, the fans were in an uproar on a Monday night as word had gotten around that CU was about to take down mighty No. 1. The Buffs bench sprinted onto the field to celebrate with their goaltender as Colorado won the game, 15-12.
The black and gold had completed the task and upset Virginia Tech. McIntyre led the way with four goals, while Craig Nam and Jacob Roos both scored two of their own. Mike Kuligowski was a force to be reckoned with in the faceoff circle winning several extra possessions for the Buffs and Nayman played out of this world to stifle the Hokies offense.
Colorado played a well-rounded game with all three phases performed at the highest level. The Offense scored fifteen goals, the defense held Virginia Tech off until the game was nearly out of reach to prevent any sort of comeback, and goaltending was lights out. Every sector did their job and it culminated in one of the biggest wins in program history. Colorado improved to 4-2 on the year and moved up ten spots in the most recent MCLA coaches poll from No. 24 to No. 14.
Virginia Tech squeaked by Colorado State the afternoon after they lost to Colorado, winning in Fort Collins 13-12, but the damage was done. The Hokies were dropped down to No. 3, boosting Georgia Tech to the No. 1 spot. Georgia Tech had beaten Colorado earlier this season, 15-7 at home.
Colorado now looks ahead to their next matchup versus Boise State, a team that received just nine votes in the MCLA coaches poll. Colorado looks to ride the high of beating the number one and stampede through the Broncos. That game is on Friday, March 8, at 7 p.m. MT.
Catch the Colorado men’s lacrosse games live on the Sko Buffs Sports YouTube channel.
Cover photo by Tyler Phillips/Sko Buffs Sports
Comments