The Colorado Buffaloes women’s lacrosse team (1-3, 0-0 Big 12) hosted No. 25 Army West Point (3-1, 0-0 Patriot) in the home opener Friday and emerged victorious, 12-6.
The Buffs dominated in the first half but slipped away in the third quarter before regaining the momentum early in the fourth quarter. The story of the night was captain Madeline Pisani scoring her 100th career point.
The Buffs started the first quarter with a bang within the first five minutes, led by Maddie Shoup scoring two goals. Jaimey Hill followed Shoup up with a goal of her own, and the Buffs continued their stride as an assist by Emily Dodd led to a Morgan Pence goal.
In the second quarter, neither team scored in the first 14 minutes of the quarter until Pisani broke the drought, scoring her seventh goal this season. Shortly after, Shoup notched her sixth goal this season, pushing the score to 6-1.
Draw controls were huge in the last minute of the first half, as the black and gold got two back-to-back to control the possession. With one second left in the half, Army’s Meghan Pedrnai fouled Jaimey Hill, leading to a free position attempt for CU. Hill found the back of the net, which pushed the score to 7-2 heading into the half.
In the third quarter, turnovers and fouls highlighted a poor start out of the break for the Buffs, as a turnover by Pisani and a foul from Jess Peluso allowed Army a chance for a free position attempt. Lily Valentini took advantage of the opportunity, which pushed the score 7-2 with 11:43 left in the quarter. The Black Knights continued to take advantage of the Buffaloes’ poor play, and the lead was down to 7-5 after three quarters.
Early in the fourth, CU continued to struggle but got back in the game after Pisani scored a free-position shot, putting the Buffs up 8-5. After a quick draw control, Pence scored her third goal of the season. Pisani continued to be the dominant scorer, reaching 100 career points.
“She worked for every single thing,” head coach Ann Elliot Whidden said about Pisani. “She brings so much for this team, not just what she brings on the field, but her dedication to everything.”
Friday marks Colorado's first win this season. The Buffs are back in action on Saturday, March 8, when they face off against the Michigan Wolverines (3-1) at Prentup Field at 12 p.m. MT. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
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