THIS WEEK
The University of Colorado Colorado Springs women's lacrosse team has qualified for their first ever RMAC Tournament as they finished the regular season in the fifth spot in the RMAC. The Mountain Lions will be traveling to St. Charles, Mo. to take on the fourth seed, Rockhurst University. The game is scheduled for Thursday, May 2 at 3 p.m. (MT).

ABOUT THE MOUNTAIN LIONS
After a tough stretch to end the season, the Mountain Lions now have a record of 6-9 overall this season, which includes a 4-5 record in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC). That record gives UCCS a fifth-place finish in the RMAC rankings. Now at the end of the regular season, UCCS has scored 209 goals (fifth in the RMAC) on 450 shots for shooting percentage of 43.3 percent (seventh in the RMAC).

Statistically, UCCS finished the regular season with 30 free position goals, 299 total points (19.93 per game, fifth and fourth in the RMAC), 90 assists (6.14 per game, both fourth in the RMAC), 350 ground balls (23.33 per game, both fourth in the RMAC), 152 caused turnovers (10.13 per game, fifth and sixth in the RMAC) and 228 draw controls (15.20 per game, fourth and third in the RMAC).

Kiera Lowe leads the team in goals with 36 and added 10 assists for her 46 points. Angela Naughton ranks first on the team in points (49) thanks to her 33 goals and 16 assists (both second on the team). Natalie Church finishes the regular season as the team leader in assists at 23 (1.53 per game, both fifth in the RMAC) and also has 22 goals (third on the team) for her 45 points this year, which ranks third on the team. Brianna Martinez and Madison Ellis round out the top goal scorers for UCCS with 20 and 21 respectively on the season.

Church also finishes the regular season in the top-five of the RMAC in draw controls with 93 (6.20 per game, both third in the RMAC), while Ellie O'Brien ended the season in the top five of the RMAC in both ground balls (69, 4.93 per game, third and second in the RMAC) and caused turnovers (34, 2.43 per game, fourth and third in the RMAC). 

Kennedy Travis and Emma Becker ended the season splitting time in the net, with Travis getting the majority of the minutes. Travis wrapped up the regular season with 92 saves (seventh in the RMAC) while Becker had 36 of her own. 

LAST TIME OUT
The Mountain Lions dropped another close game against Rockhurst in their final game of the regular season by a score of 10-13. After Rockhurst scored four unanswered goals to start the game, UCCS responded with five of the next seven goals to get back in the game. The first half ended with a back and forth shootout and Rockhurst leading 9-8 over UCCS. The second half was dominated more by defense as there was only six goals scored in the entire half. The Mountain Lions were only able to net two of those goals and would fall just short of victory.

Seven different Mountain Lions tallied goals in the game, with Kiera Lowe getting the only hat trick for UCCS, her sixth of the year. Heather O'Hern scored two goals for the second most on the team, and Audrey Napp, Mallory Corrigan, Kyer Frederick, Madison Ellis and Brianna Martinez all had one goal.

Natalie Church tied with Martinez for the team high in assists with two, and Martinez tied with Lowe for the team high in points with three. Napp led the Mountain Lions in draw controls with five and Gianni Cannon had the most caused turnovers with four. 

Ellie O'Brien picked up a game high six ground balls in the game and also had three caused turnovers, second most behind Cannon.

Kennedy Travis started in goal for the game and gave up eight goals with six saves in just under 25 minutes. Emma Becker relieved Travis in the net and allowed five goals while tallying five saves.

Despite the loss, UCCS will look for some revenge against Rockhurst in the first round of the RMAC Tournament.

SCOUTING THE HAWKS
Rockhurst ended the regular season with a 10-7 record, which includes a 6-3 record in the RMAC. Those numbers earned them the fourth spot in the RMAC rankings. As a team, the Hawks have scored 239 goals (fourth in the RMAC) on 508 shots this season for a shooting percentage of 47 percent. 

The Hawks also have 49 free position goals, 290 total points (fifth in the RMAC), 51 assists (fifth in the RMAC), 352 ground balls (third in the RMAC), 212 draw controls (sixth in the RMAC), and 194 caused turnovers (third in the RMAC).

Logan Derosia and Marianna Anderson lead the offense for Rockhurst with 53 (second in the RMAC) and 47 (fourth in the RMAC) goals this season. Hannah Miller leads the team in assists with 19 and has 34 goals as well for her 53 points (second on the team behind Derosia). 

Maddi Scheipeter leads the team in draw controls with 62 (sixth in the RMAC), while Bunga Spencer and Hanna Meek lead the team in ground balls and caused turnovers at 36 and 20 respectively. 

Molly Dunham is the main goalkeeper for the Hawks as she has 15 starts under her belt this year. In her 16 total appearances, Dunham has racked up 116 saves (fourth in the RMAC) and an 9-6 record.

WEATHER FORECAST 
The forecast for St. Charles, Mo. on Thursday, May 2 shows a high temperature of 71 degrees with scattered thunderstorms expected throughout the day. Winds are expected to gust up to 8 miles per hour. For any updates, stay tuned to gomountainlions.com.

UP NEXT
The RMAC Tournament for women's lacrosse is a single elimination tournament. Therefore, if the Mountain Lions win this Thursday they will receive a trip to the second round and a matchup with the #1 seed, Regis University.