DENVER, Colo. – The University of Colorado Colorado Springs women's lacrosse team came close to earning their first post-season win but came up just short Friday afternoon against No. 24 Colorado Mesa University, 15-13.  UCCS earned the No. 3 seed in just their second Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference championship tournament and faced off against No. 2 seed CMU.  Top seed Regis University is the host of the 2021 RMAC Women's Lacrosse Tournament.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final: UCCS 13, #24 Colorado Mesa 15
Records: UCCS (8-4), CMU (9-4)
Location: Regis Lacrosse Field | Denver, Colo.
All-Time Series: The Mavericks lead the all-time series, 4-0.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• It was a quiet offensive first half of actin as both teams scored six goals each.  Natalie Church put the Mountain Lions on the scoreboard in the third minute of action and added a second goal eight minutes later for a 2-0 UCCS lead.
• After CMU's Kiley Davis found the back of the net for the Mavericks first goal of the game, Chloe Harding and Church posted back-to-back goals to boost the Mountain Lions lead to three goals, 4-1, with 12 minutes left in the first half.
• The Mavericks responded with three straight goals in a span of 100 seconds to knot the game at 4-4.
• With just 26 seconds left in the first half, Angela Naughton found Hannah Koopal for a player-down goal as UCCS tied the game going into halftime, 6-6.
• The Mountain Lions burst out of halftime scoring three straight goals.  Holly Sodomka connected with Naughton 27 seconds into the half before Mallory Corrigan found Kiera Lowe 33 seconds later.  Naughton added her second goal of the half in the 35^th minute to boost the Mountain Lions to another three-goal lead, 9-6.
• Over the next 12 minutes, the Mavericks went on a scoring frenzy, scoring seven straight goals to grab a 13-9 lead.
• Trailing by four goals with 11 minutes left in regulation, Audry Napp and Sodomka found the back of the net within 30 seconds of each other. 
• Lowe scored the final two goals of the game for UCCS but the Mountain Lions ran out of time, falling to the No. 3 seed Mavericks, 15-13.

 
STATS FROM THE GAME

• Naughton led the Mountain Lions with two goals and two assists for four points.
• Lowe finished with three goals and a team high six shots and added two draws.
• Church also posted a hat trick to go with four shots, one ground ball and one draw control.
• Sodomka won a team high three draws while finishing with three points behind one goal and two assists.
• Defending the goal was Madison McGriff who played all 60 minutes, making 19 saves.
• The Mavericks were led by Kiley Davis' five points (four goals, one assist) and 11 shots.

 
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• The Mountain Lions closed the regular season recording the most wins in program history with eight. 
• This is the second straight conference tournament the Mountain Lions have qualified for (2019) and their highest seeding.
• Today's meeting was the first time UCCS and CMU faced each other this season.  Their regular season match was cancelled due to COVID-19 protocols.
• On Thursday, Holly Sodomka was named the RMAC Women's Lacrosse Summit award winner, becoming the first player in program history to earn the award.

SOCIAL 
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Instagram – @gomountainlions 
Facebook – /GoMountainLions  
  
As a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs competes in 16 varsity sports in NCAA Division II intercollegiate athletics.