COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The University of Colorado Colorado Springs women's lacrosse team secured a 14-9 victory over Missouri Western State University in their last non-conference matchup of the season inside Mountain Lion Stadium. Ella Mills recorded a career-high with six goals scored against the Griffins, while Sofia Watts logged her first hat trick of the season.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
- Final Score: W, 14-9
- Records: UCCS (3-4, 1-1 RMAC) | MWSU (4-3, 0-0 GLVC)
- Facility | Location: Mountain Lion Stadium | Colorado Springs, Colo.
- All-Time Series: This afternoon's game was the sixth matchup between UCCS and Missouri Western State in school history. With today's victory, the Mountain Lions are now 4-2 all-time.
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST QUARTER: UCCS 7, MWSU 2
- Missouri Western State immediately started on offense as they won the first draw control, but Rylie Maready forced Olivia Fornelli to turnover the ball and UCCS quickly turned the tables. A minute and a half later, Ella Mills secured the first Mountain Lion goal with a stunning shot to the lower left corner, just past Ava Garaway's leg. With 12:40 on the clock, Brittan Gulick equalized the game with a free position goal. Mills answered with her second goal of the afternoon, just moments before UCCS was put on defense again. Earning another free position, Maddie Chidester smashed a shot past Delaney Gnos' stick, tying up the score 2-2. Sprinting down the left side of the field, Mills hungered for a hat trick as she beat two Griffin defenders one-on-one and secured her third goal of the game. MWSU answered by winning the ensuing draw control, but impenetrable defending caused Brooke Tjernlund to turnover the ball and UCCS was back on the attack. With seven minutes left in the first quarter, Allison Hoffman scored a stunning goal, earning the Mountain Lions a 4-2 lead. Maready won the following draw control and barrelled down the field, lobbing a pass to Julia Hoffman who went on to secure her first goal against MWSU. The Griffins were forced to take a timeout to reorganize, but were ultimately unsuccessful as Sofia Watts and Charlotte Fannin each collected a single goal before the break.
SECOND QUARTER: MWSU 7, UCCS 2
- Less than a minute into the second quarter, Brinley Willenbrock connected with Caetryn Gilreath for a goal, closing UCCS' lead to four. The Griffins secured the next draw control, putting the Mountain Lions immediately back on defense. Chidester and Willenbrock both secured a goal within 50 seconds of each other, bringing UCCS' lead to 7-5. It was now the Mountain Lions who were forced to call a timeout to regroup. Coming back onto the field with revitalized energy and 12:30 on the clock, UCCS pushed MWSU into their defensive end for the first time in the second quarter. After earning a free position, Watts recorded her second goal of the game. The Griffins quickly responded with a goal of their own, now trailing by just two points. Gulick capitalized off a free position moments before Jessica Brook slipped a pass to unmarked Chidester for her second goal against the Mountain Lions. Ellen Gernert checked into the game for Gnos at goalkeeper and brought momentum with her, energizing the UCCS defense. With an 8-8 score, both teams battled up and down the field until Allison Hoffman connected with Josie Leonard, who went on to secure a player-up goal and earn UCCS a 9-8 lead. It was not long before Chidester collected a hat trick as she scored her third goal of the afternoon with a stunning shot from way downtown. After a scoreless three minutes to close out the half, the score reflected a 9-9 draw as the whistle blew.
THIRD QUARTER: UCCS 3, MWSU 0
- The Mountain Lions came out with some momentum as they secured the first draw control and barrelled down the field into Griffin defensive territory. Maready fired a shot towards net moments before Allison Hoffman logged a shot of her own, but neither could get past Garaway's skilled saves. With 12:56 on the clock, Mills collected her fourth goal against MWSU as she cut past a defender and blasted a shot into the top right corner of the goal. Winning 10-9, UCCS earned a free position after Maleah Sosa committed a foul. Watts lined up for the shot, but Garaway saved her team from potentially trailing by two goals. Mills pushed the Mountain Lions back on the attack as she penetrated the Griffin's defensive half, and logged her fifth goal of the game with nine minutes remaining in the third quarter. Seven minutes passed with minimal action on both sides, until Watts scored her third goal of the game and successfully recorded her first hat trick of the season.
FOURTH QUARTER: UCCS 2, MWSU 0
- Leading 12-9 against the MWSU, Watts slung a shot towards goal just 15 seconds after the starting whistle but was unable to score against Garaway. The Griffins responded moments later with a free position after drawing a foul, but Tjernlund missed wide and the ground ball was picked up by Jade Wilson. Now back on the attack, Allison Hoffman collected a pass and blasted a shot towards goal, but the ball ricocheted off the post and forced Tjernlund to commit a foul. Back with the ball at the free position, Allison Hoffman attempted to slip a shot into the lower right corner of the net, but was blocked by Garaway and the Mountain Lions continued to lead by three as they were pushed back on defense. Both teams raced up and down the field for the next five minutes, remaining scoreless until Maready sneakily slipped a pass to Brielle Fannin, who went on to smash a shot past Garaway's stick from more than 15 yards out. MWSU had a scoring opportunity with 3:20 on the clock as Tjernlund lined up for the free position, but Gernert blocked her low shot with an impressive save and pushed UCCS back up the field. With 30 seconds remaining in regulation, Mills scored her sixth goal afternoon and earned the Mountain Lions a 14-9 lead.
FINAL SCORE: UCCS 14, MWSU 9
GAME STATISTICS
- The Mountain Lions were led by Ella Mills' six goals, one assist, nine shots on goal, and one ground ball. Sofia Watts chipped in three goals, one assist, six shots on goal, two ground balls, and one draw control.
- Brielle Fannin, Charlotte Fannin, Josie Leonard, Allison Hoffman, and Julia Hoffman each scored a single goal against MWSU.
- The Mountain Lions were successful on 19-of-22 clears while the Griffins were successful on 15-of-17 clears. UCCS held the advantage in shots (37-24), shots on goal (24-9), and ground balls (25-19).
- Maddie Chidester led the Griffins with four goals, seven shots, one ground ball, and seven draw controls.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Freshman Ella Mills secured her second hat trick while sophomore Sofia Watts collected her first hat trick against the Griffins. This afternoon's matchup was the first time two players have logged a hat trick in the same game this season.
- Redshirt-junior Ellen Gernert recorded her first win of the season in net, playing the final 38 minutes against MWSU and collecting three saves.
- Today marked the second straight game UCCS has held their opponent to zero goals scored in a single quarter, while simultaneously marking the first time they have held their opponent to zero goals scored in a half.
UP NEXT
- The Mountain Lions will compete in a conference matchup against Fort Lewis College at 4 p.m. on Friday, March 20 at Mountain Lion Stadium in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
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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.
