COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The University of Colorado Colorado Springs women's lacrosse team dominated the Westminster Griffins 20-9 on Sunday afternoon inside Mountain Lion Stadium. Three Mountain Lions earned a hat trick: Ella Mills, Rylie Maready, and Charlotte Fannin.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
- Final Score: UCCS 20, WU 9
- Records: UCCS (9-5, 7-2 RMAC) | WU (7-5, 5-3 RMAC)
- Facility | Location: Mountain Lion Stadium | Colorado Springs, Colo.
- All-Time Series: This afternoon's game was the 15th matchup between UCCS and Westminster in school history. With tonight's victory, the Mountain Lions are now 9-6 all-time.
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST QUARTER: UCCS 3, WU 1
- The first five minutes of regulation resulted in back-and-forth action and a lack of goals on both ends. Josie Leonard kicked off scoring after grabbing a ground ball and going coast to coast, smashing a shot past Westminster goalkeeper Kaelyn Hart and earning a 1-0 lead for the Mountain Lions. Back in the Griffins' defensive territory moments later, Ella Mills capitalized off a turnover from Hart and quickly found the back of the net, putting the Griffins in a two-goal deficit. The ensuing four minutes resulted in a slew of shots on both sides, but it was Lilliana Montano who finally put Westminster on the scoreboard with a stunning shot towards the bottom left corner of the goal. With less than a minute left in the first quarter, Sydnee-Anne Moeller connected with wide-open Mills, who went on to defeat a Westminster defender one-on-one and bury the ball past Hart for the third UCCS goal of the afternoon.
SECOND QUARTER: UCCS 8, WU 4
- The Mountain Lions were quickly pushed back into their defensive territory as Marianna Dick forced UCCS to turnover the ball. After a 30-second string of possession, Jessie Giacomazzi earned a free position and blasted the ball past Ellen Gernert's stick. Less than a minute later, Allie Schell lobbed a pass to Sofia Watts from behind the goal, assisting the first UCCS goal of the second quarter. With momentum on their side, Charlotte Fannin, Moeller, and Brielle Fannin each secured a goal in the next two minutes. The Griffins could not manage to get an attacking play in before both Watts and Rylie Maready both collected another UCCS goal, forcing Westminster to trail 9-2. Giacomazzi won the following draw control, allowing them to penetrate the Mountain Lion's defensive half. Holly Shoughro connected with Madi Rogers with 4:53 on the clock and put an end to the Griffins' scoreless stint. Shoughro closed the gap to five goals shortly before halftime with a powerful shot from way downtown, rippling the back of the net before Gernert could react. Adison Bendorf scored one last goal for Westminster with one minute remaining in the first half, but Schell and Rylie Maready each added a goal to UCCS' total, resulting in an 11-5 lead as the whistle blew.
THIRD QUARTER: UCCS 5, WU 1
- UCCS started off strong by winning the first draw control, and quickly secured a goal as Rylie Maready collected the ball from Julia Hoffman and slotted a shot into the top right corner of the net. The ensuing six minutes resulted in a slew of turnovers and ground balls for both teams, until Schell smashed a shot past Hart's left side and earned UCCS a comfortable 13-5 lead. With 4:13 on the clock, Westminster drew a free position, but impenetrable defending forced the Griffins to continue on without a goal to their name in the third quarter. Back on the attack, the Mountain Lions passed the ball around with ease in front of the net, finally finding Mills back-post and giving her the opportunity to earn her 7th career hat trick. Allison Hoffman forced Westminster to trail 15-5 after scoring a player-up free position goal, but it was not long before Giacomazzi received a pass from Olivia Petrosky and blasted a shot past Gernert, logging the first Griffin goal of the second half. However, the Mountain Lions had the final say after Charlotte Fannin scored a second goal and reflected a ten-goal lead over Westminster.
FOURTH QUARTER: UCCS 4, WU 3
- Kiley Cuddahy logged a shot just 20 seconds into the final quarter, but was skillfully blocked by Kaitlyn Parish and the Griffins were able to transition up the field. After possessing the ball around in Mountain Lion defensive territory, Rogers spun a UCCS defender and slotted a shot past Gernert, closing the gap to nine goals. Less than a minute later, Mills ended Westminster's rise in energy by capitalizing off a free position and securing her 4th goal of the game. Back in the Griffin's defensive half, Charlotte Fannin earned the Mountain Lions an 18-7 lead just before Petrosky and Montano scored player-up goals within seconds of each other. Watts nearly secured a hat trick as she slung a shot towards net, but the ball ricocheted off the crossbar and bounced back into play. As Jade Wilson grabbed the ground ball and sprinted up the field, Allison Hoffman collected her pass and slipped a low shot past Parish, widening the gap in points to ten yet again. With 1:24 remaining in regulation, Moeller logged her second goal of the afternoon by spinning a Griffin defender and burying a shot from way back. Ultimately, Westminster could not overcome the staggering deficit and travelled back home with a 20-9 loss on their shoulders.
FINAL SCORE: UCCS 20, WU 9
GAME STATISTICS
- The Mountain Lions were led by Ella Mills' four goals, eight shots, one ground ball, and one draw control. Rylie Maready and Charlotte Fannin each chipped in three goals while recording four and seven shots, respectively.
- Lilliana Montano, Madi Rogers, and Jessie Giacomazzi each secured two goals for the Griffins.
- UCCS held the advantage in goals (20-9), assists (10-5), shots (39-20), shots on goal (25-12), free position shots (6-5), ground balls (22-18), and draw controls (24-6).
- Westminster was successful on all 16-of-16 clears, while the Mountain Lions were successful on 15-of-17 clears.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- UCCS recognized and celebrated ten senior players prior to the start of the game: Peyton Ross, Rylie Maready, Jade Wilson, Brielle Fannin, Allie Schell, Kendra Knutson, Sydnee-Anne Moeller, Jessie Ackerman, Ellen Gernert, and Jordyn Nuñez.
- Redshirt Junior goalkeeper Ellen Gernert logged her first start of the season and played a complete game against the Griffins.
- Rylie Maready scored her second career hat trick in this afternoon's game, while Ella Mills secured her 7th and Charlotte Fannin logged her 4th.
UP NEXT
- The Mountain Lions will compete against the Regis Rangers for their final regular season game at 12 p.m. on Saturday, April 18 at RU Turf Fields in Denver, 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.
