The Buffs’ lacrosse team gave their seniors something to celebrate on Senior Night.
Colorado (6-6, 1-2 RMLC) beat the BYU Cougars (10-4, 2-2 RMLC) 14-11 Monday night at Kittredge Field.
“We knew we had to come out for senior night, our last game at home, and put on a show,” said Colorado head coach Mike Ryder.
Though BYU is ranked No. 5 according to laxpower.com, the Buffs did not look intimidated. They came out strong and led 4-2 at the end of the first quarter.
The sparks began to fly in the second quarter. Colorado scored six goals in the quarter, and only allowed one.
The halftime 10-3 lead had the entire team excited.
“It got the sideline going crazy,” said senior defensive midfielder Mike Britt. “Everyone was working hard, it just fueled the fire.”
BYU came out strongly to start out the third, making a small run and cutting down the Buffs’ lead. The Buffs remained in the lead with 12-6 at the end of the third quarter, but BYU’s attacking performance left the defense a little on their heels.
“Whenever someone makes a run, especially with a quality team like BYU, it’s tough,” said senior defender Marty Taffet. “You’ve got to posses, and you’ve got to keep doing well”
Despite the second half onslaught, where Colorado was outscored 4-8, the Buffs hung on to get a much needed win.
The Buffs now have a record of 4-1 after Ryder took charge of the team. Things looked rocky at the start with a loss to CSU, but Colorado has improved, scoring big wins over the likes of Michigan and Michigan State.
Ryder said he appreciates the effort his team has given him.
“It’s great, we knew we had the talent all season long, that we were going to be able to be one of the top ranked team,” Ryder said. “Once the change happened, the guys really bought into the new stuff, built on that, and got big wins.”
Colorado now sits in the third seed of the RMLC conference tournament. They will take on BYU again in the first round of the tournament Friday in Provo, Utah. If they win again they will take on the winner of the second game in the first round between Utah and No. 2 Colorado State.
Team members say they are looking forward to taking on the Cougars again.
“The good thing about playing the same team twice in a row is that the second time it going to come down to who works hard,” Ryder said. “We’ll make the tiny adjustments that will hopefully get us a bigger win.”
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Mark McNeillie at Mark.mcneillie@colorado.edu.
