GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – Firing off a barrage of goals in the third quarter to offset a scoreless second stanza, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs women's lacrosse team recorded its first ever win over Colorado Mesa University in program history, claiming an 8-7 victory Sunday afternoon on CMU's home turn. The win marked the Mountain Lions' first conference win of the young season, moving them to 2-4 overall and 1-1 in league games.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
- Final Score: W, 8-7
- Records: UCCS (2-4, 1-1 RMAC) | CMU (1-7, 0-1 RMAC)
- Facility: CMU Community Hospital Unity Field | Grand Junction, Colo.
- All-Time Series: UCCS is now 1-15 against CMU, and 1-5 on the Mavericks home field.
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST QUARTER: CMU 4, UCCS 1
- UCCS generated the first scoring opportunity of the game as Allie Schell fired a shot on goal, but the attempt was saved by Colorado Mesa's goalkeeper Heather Hawkins. On the Mavericks' ensuing possession, UCCS goalkeeper Delaney Gnos recorded a pair of early saves, including a stop on a free-position shot. However, a Mountain Lions foul on the same sequence gave Courtney Havel another free-position opportunity, and she converted to give CMU a 1-0 lead.
- Playing with a player advantage, Kaylle Kittle extended the Mavericks' lead to 2-0 at the 9:35 mark. Allison Hoffman had a chance to put UCCS on the board with a free-position attempt midway through the quarter, but her shot struck the crossbar and stayed in play as the Mountain Lions maintained possession but came up empty.
- Colorado Mesa capitalized late in the period, scoring twice in the final minutes to build a 4-0 advantage. UCCS broke through with 31 seconds remaining in the quarter when Rylie Maready converted a free-position shot from the right-center arc, cutting the deficit to 4-1 heading into the second quarter.
SECOND QUARTER: UCCS 0, CMU 0
- Defense dominated the second quarter as neither team found the back of the net. The Mountain Lions held Colorado Mesa scoreless across nine possessions, forcing four Maverick turnovers while Gnos added three saves in goal to keep UCCS within striking distance at halftime.
THIRD QUARTER: UCCS 5, CMU 2
- The Mountain Lions opened the second half with momentum after Gnos recorded her sixth save of the game to give UCCS possession. Working the ball patiently through the offensive set, Allison Hoffman found Rylie Maready in the middle of the zone, where she buried a shot at the 11:10 mark to cut the deficit to 4-2 and snap nearly a 20-minute scoring drought for UCCS.
- Colorado Mesa answered at the 8:00 mark as Courtney Havel completed her hat trick to extend the Mavericks' lead to 5-2.
- Trailing by three goals, the Mountain Lions surged back with three goals in less than two minutes. Hoffman recorded her second assist of the game when she connected with a cutting Josie Leonard for a goal at 5:43. Jade Wilson controlled the ensuing draw before Brielle Fannin lofted a pass to Sofia Watts, who snagged it out of the air and finished from five yards out to trim the deficit to 5-4.
- After Hoffman secured another draw control, Watts capitalized on a free-position opportunity, firing a shot into the right side of the net to tie the game at 5-5 with 4:07 remaining in the quarter.
- Sydnee-Anne Moeller then gave UCCS its first lead of the game at the 2:47 mark, converting a pass from Julia Hoffman and sending a shot over the goalkeeper's left shoulder to make it 6-5. The Mavericks responded late in the period as Kylee Kittle netted her second goal of the game with 16 seconds remaining to even the score at 6-6 heading into the fourth quarter.
FOURTH QUARTER: UCCS 2, CMU 1
- With the game tied entering the final quarter, Gnos made two critical saves on back-to-back Maverick possessions, including a stop on a free-position attempt. UCCS capitalized on the ensuing possession as Ella Mills drove down the left side of the attacking zone and finished to give the Mountain Lions a 7-6 lead at 9:02.
- Allison Hoffman followed by winning the next draw control and weaving past the CMU defense before scoring to extend the lead to 8-6, forcing the Mavericks to call a timeout.
- Colorado Mesa pulled within one late in the game as Havel recorded her fourth goal of the contest with 2:29 remaining, but the Mountain Lions held on defensively to secure the 8-7 victory.
FINAL SCORE: UCCS 8, CMU 7
GAME STATISTICS
- Allison Hoffman finished with the game-winning goal, two assists, five shots, two shots on goal, and three draw controls.
- Both of Rylie Maready's and Watts' shots on goal resulted in goals.
- Gnos earned the win in goal, recording nine saves and collecting a team-high four ground balls.
- Ross added three ground balls and forced two turnovers defensively.
- Wilson and Hoffman combined to win seven of UCCS' nine draw controls, with Wilson securing four.
- After CMU won all six draw controls in the first half, the Mountain Lions dominated the second half with nine of the game's final 11 draws.
- Colorado Mesa held advantages in total shots (26-20) and ground balls (22-15).
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Today's win snapped a three-gaming losing skid.
- The second quarter shutout was the first time this season UCCS has held an opponent scoreless in a quarter.
- The Mountain Lions's 20 clears this afternoon are a season high.
UP NEXT
- UCCS returns home for a four-game homestand, beginning Wednesday at 11 a.m. against Missouri Western State University.
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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.
