THIS WEEK
The University of Colorado Colorado Springs women's lacrosse team will be hosting non-conference opponent #23 New York Institute of Technology this Friday, Mar. 22 at Mountain Lion Stadium. The game is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.

ABOUT THE MOUNTAIN LIONS
After winning two straight games, UCCS dropped a close game to Colorado State University – Pueblo (CSU – Pueblo), bringing their overall record to 3-4 and their conference record to 1-1. Seven games into this season, the Mountain Lions have scored 100 goals (fifth in the RMAC) on 230 shots, giving them a shooting percentage of 43.5 percent. UCCS averages just over 14 goals per game (fifth in the RMAC).

Statically, the Mountain Lions also have 138 points this year (fifth in the RMAC), average 19.71 points per game (fourth in the RMAC), 12 free position goals, 38 assists (fourth in the RMAC), 112 total draw controls (16 per game, both third in the RMAC) and have caused 79 turnovers (fourth in the RMAC).

Individually, Angela Naughton, Kiera Lowe, Natalie Church and Brianna Martinez are leading the Mountain Lions. Naughton leads the team in points (25) and goals (18), and also has seven assists which is second on the team. Lowe has the second most points (20) and goals (15) on the team to go along with five assists. Church has a team high 10 assists to go along with seven goals for her 17 points, and Martinez has the third most goals on the team with 12.

Church continues to lead the team in draw controls with 43, which is the fourth most in in the RMAC. Ellie O'Brien has 18 caused turnovers on the year, most on the team and third most in the RMAC.

Goalkeeper Kennedy Travis has a team high 38 saves this year and owns a record of 2-1.

LAST TIME OUT
The Mountain Lions played their second consecutive game decided by two goals, but came out on the wrong side as they fell to CSU – Pueblo 14-16. Tied at the half 7-7, UCCS jumped ahead 9-7 after two quick goals to start the second half. However, CSU – Pueblo evened the score just as quickly, then scored five unanswered to take a 14-10 lead.

UCCS would mount a late comeback, scoring three goals in the final two minutes, but would fall just short.

Eight different Mountain Lions netted a goal in the game, with Angela Naughton and Brianna Martinez each recording a hat trick to lead the team. Naughton added an assist to give her four points for the day, which tied for the team high with Kiera Lowe, who had two goals and two assists herself.

Sophomore Morgan Miller netted her first goal of the season in the game as well.

Natalie Church and Angela Naughton paced the team in draw controls with six each and Ellie O'Brien led the team with two caused turnovers.

Kennedy Travis (2-1) recorded nine saves in 54 minutes but received her first loss of the year. 

SCOUTING THE BEARS
New York Tech has a record of 4-1, with their only loss coming at the hands of #20 Bentley University to give them their #23 national rank. New York Tech's best game of the year came in the season opener when they dominated Holy Family University 21-2. 

New York Tech has scored 83 goals on 187 shots this season, giving them an average of close to 17 goals per game. The Bears get off 37.4 shots per game and have a shots on goal percentage of almost 80 percent.

Other relevant team statistics for the Bears include 43 assists, 126 points, nine free position goals, 85 draw controls and 50 caused turnovers.

Brooke Basso, Shannon Donovan and Madisyn Hausch lead the team offensively, each netting 20, 19 and 14 goals respectively on the season. Basso has eight assists for her team leading 28 points, while Donovan and Hausch have two and seven assists respectively, giving them each 21 points.

Jaclyn Grzelaczyk leads the team in assists with 15 and is second on the team in points (23) thanks to eight goals.

Basso also leads the team in free-position goals with four and draw controls with 35. 

Anne-Marie Adito is tied with Shannon Donovan for the team lead in caused turnovers with nine.

Goalkeeper Ashley Miller (4-1) leads the team in saves with 40 on the year and has a save percentage of 54 percent.

WEATHER FORECAST
The forecast for this Friday, Mar. 22 shows partly cloudy skies with a high of 53 degrees. Wind gusts of up to 20 miles per hour are expected for the afternoon. For any schedule changes related to weather, stay tuned to gomountainlions.com.

UP NEXT
The Mountain Lions will play host to RMAC rival #14 Colorado Mesa University on Friday, Mar. 29. The game is scheduled to start 5 p.m. at Mountain Lion Stadium.