COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The University of Colorado Colorado Springs women's lacrosse team opened their season with a non-conference home match against #6 Maryville University. Despite four players scoring their first collegiate goal, the Mountain Lions fell to the Saints, 13-9.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
- Final Score: L, 13-9
- Records: UCCS (0-1, 0-0 RMAC) | #6 Maryville (4-0, 0-0 GLVC)
- Facility | Location: Mountain LionStadium | Colorado Springs, Colo.
- All-Time Series: This afternoon's game was the first match up between UCCS and Maryville in school history. The Mountain Lions are now 0-1 all-time against the Saints.
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST QUARTER: MU 4, UCCS 0
- Maryville started off strong by winning the first draw of the game and immediately put the Mountain Lions on defense. After four and a half minutes of play, Natalie Tomljenovic buried the ball into the lower right corner of the net, propelling the Saints ahead by one. As the Saints barrelled down the field again, Josie Leonard blocked Maryville's shot and earned the Mountain Lions their first successful clear as she raced up the middle of the field. With eight minutes remaining in the first quarter, Sydnee-Anne Moeller logged a shot attempt but could not manage to slip the ball past Maryville's goalkeeper, Gianna Guzek. Helen Bae put Maryville back on the offensive attack a minute later by beating two UCCS defenders one-on-one and burying the ball behind Delaney Gnos's left leg. Bae went on to collect a draw for Maryville moments later and score her second goal of the afternoon, putting the Mountain Lions behind by three. To seal a 4-0 lead, Paige Murphy netted a goal after an impressive pass by Mady Richert with five minutes remaining before the break. UCCS went back on the attack after Jessie Ackerman collected a ground ball and earned a free position, but was ultimately unsuccessful.
SECOND QUARTER: MU 2, UCCS 4
- Ahead by four, Maryville drew a free position with 11:30 left on the clock, but Emmery Clark missed wide of the net and UCCS propelled forward with a successful clear. With energy on their side, the Mountain Lions netted their first goal of the second quarter as Jade Wilson scooped up a ground ball just a few feet from the net before passing it to Charlotte Fannin, who went on to slip the ball past Maryville's goalkeeper. The Saints responded instantly by winning the next draw and collecting their fifth goal of the afternoon. After back-and-forth possessions, the Mountain Lions found themselves on the offensive attack again, Allison Hoffman taking advantage of a player-up opportunity and scoring her first collegiate goal with eight minutes remaining before halftime. Minutes later, Gnos recorded another impressive save for UCCS and squashed Maryville's free position opportunity. Tomljenovic ricocheted a shot off the post and the ball was picked up by Kendra Knutson, who put the Mountain Lions back on offense. With five minutes on the clock, Ella Mills connected with Josie Leonard for her first collegiate goal. The Saints answered by drawing a free position, in which Tomljenovic took the ball herself to the net and scored another goal for Maryville, putting UCCS behind by three. With 23 seconds remaining in the second quarter, Charlotte Fannin went coast-to-coast before securing her second goal of the game.
THIRD QUARTER: MU 6, UCCS 3
- Maryville won the first draw of the third quarter and gained momentum as Murphy raced down the left side of the field, but the Saints attack was cut short as Allison Hoffman forced a turnover and scooped up a ground ball. After an unfortunate turnover by UCCS moments later, Emmery Clark scored the seventh goal of the game for Maryville. Gnos made a stunning save with 12 minutes on the clock and earned the Mountain Lions some much-needed energy as they went on to record a successful clear and Sofia Watts was able to get a shot off. As a Saints player drew a green card, Ella Mills logged her first collegiate player-up goal after Allie Schell set her up with a perfect pass. Mady Richert scored her sixth goal of the season, forcing UCCS to trail by three with ten minutes remaining before the break. Josie Leonard won the ensuing draw, allowing the Mountain Lions to put Maryville on the defense as they barrelled down the field towards goal. After nearly a minute of slow possession, UCCS drew a free position, but was unsuccessful as Allison Hoffman's shot went wide. Brielle Fannin logged her first collegiate goal after yet another assist by Allie Schell just two minutes later. As the sideline continued to erupt, Ella Mills won the following draw and raced down the middle of the field. However, the Mountain Lion's momentum was cut short as Dorothy Fife won a ground ball and put UCCS back on defense. As the Saints earned a free position, Murphy scored a player-up goal to take a three-goal lead. Maryville went on to score two more goals almost immediately, but a stunning goal by Sofia Watts closed the gap to 11-7. With 30 seconds left on the clock, Gabby Quinones scored a free position goal to push the Mountain Lions behind by five heading into the final quarter.
FOURTH QUARTER: MU 1, UCCS 2
- Trailing 12-7 with less than 14 minutes left in regulation, Bae jumped quickly on the offensive attack and buried a shot past Gnos' right side. Two minutes later, the Saints forced a turnover and barrelled back down the field, but proper defending by the Mountain Lions allowed the game to continue on without another Maryville goal. UCCS scored two goals within the final moments of the game, but it was not enough to overcome the scoring deficit and the Saints travelled back home with another victory on their belt.
FINAL SCORE: MU 13, UCCS 9
GAME STATISTICS
- Ella Mills, Sofia Watts, and Charlotte Fannin each scored two goals against Maryville.
- Sofia Watts led UCCS in shots, collecting five shots this afternoon, all on frame.
- Allie Schell led UCCS with four assists, while Ella Mills recorded a single assist.
- Four Mountain Lions logged two ground balls: Peyton Ross, Jade Wilson, Ashley Weiss, and Jessie Ackerman.
- Gnos made nine saves in goal for a .409 save percentage.
- Maryville was led by Helen Bae's three goals, three assists, and five shots.
- The Saints held an advantage over UCCS in shots (32-22), ground balls (25-21), and draws 15-7).
- The Mountain Lions were successful on 17-of-17 clears, while Maryville was successful on 13-of-14 clears.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
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As a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs competes in 14 varsity sports in NCAA Division II intercollegiate athletics.
