STANFORD, Calif. - The No. 20 Colorado Buffaloes women’s lacrosse team (0-1, 0-0 Big 12) began its season on the road against the No. 15 Stanford Cardinal (2-0, 0-0 ACC), the team who ended the Buffaloes’ season in 2024, and came up short once again, 15-10. Rain was pouring down on Maloney Field for most of the game, turning the field into a muddy mess in the second half.
The Buffs came out firing in the first quarter to kick off their 2025 campaign, jumping out to a 4-0 lead against the reigning Pac-12 champions. Teagan Ryan had two goals for the Buffs in the opening quarter.
Just under four minutes into the second quarter, Madeline Pisani pushed the Colorado lead to 6-1, and the black and gold were in total control on the road despite the poor weather conditions. That’s when Stanford goalkeeper Lucy Pearson flipped a switch, and the game's momentum changed. Five of her eight saves came in the second quarter as she single-handedly slowed CU’s attack.
Offensively, the Cardinal rebounded nicely in the second. The Buffs had an 8-4 lead going into halftime, but Lexi Rodell found the back of the net with just four seconds remaining in the half to steal a goal for Stanford and cut the lead to three.
Ryan’s hat trick of goals led either team going into the break.
Draw controls were the name of the game in the second half. The Cardinal won that battle 4-2 in the third quarter and outshot the Buffaloes 10-4 to even things up at nine heading into the fourth quarter. Just one of CU’s four shots was on goal in the period.
In the fourth quarter, the Buffs faced poor field conditions. The grass inside the eight-meter arc was completely torn up on the side of the field they were attacking. However, their chances inside that arc were few and far between, as Stanford controlled the first five draws and forced four CU turnovers in the final frame.
The Cardinal lead grew to 14-9 with just a few minutes to go, and the game was out of reach for the Buffaloes. Two late goals by both teams didn’t affect the game besides the final score, which read 15-10 after the final buzzer.
Pisani led the charge for Colorado with five goals. Ryan finished with three, Jaimey Hill had two and Morgan Pence had one goal in her first game back from injury. On the other side, the Cardinal had nine different players score a goal.
Thursday’s loss was Colorado’s third straight against Stanford. The Buffs are back in action on Sunday when they face No. 24 USC at California Memorial Stadium at 2 p.m. MT.
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