Contact CU Independent Sports Staff Writer Olivia Butrymovich at olbu3713@colorado.edu.
Under April showers in Boulder, the University of Colorado women’s lacrosse team set two school records in their 23-0 blowout win against the St. Mary Gaels on Friday.
The Buffs set the record for the largest margin of victory as well as points scored in a game.
Colorado previously set the record for most goals against a team in last year’s matchup against St. Mary’s. The Buffs defeated the Gaels 21-5 in their previous meeting in California.
Junior midfielder Tori Link had herself the greatest game of her career as a Buff, scoring five goals in the win.
“It’s such a good feeling to come off the bench for a few games and to score a quick five goals is pretty awesome,” said Link on her dominating performance.
With a win against fellow conference member St. Mary’s, the Buffs improve to 10-4 overall. Colorado sits in third overall in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation conference, with a record of 4-2.
The Buffs got the ball rolling quickly with a goal from sophomore midfielder Darby Kiernan. Kiernan’s goal was scored within the first minute of play.
A second goal followed shortly after, scored by sophomore attacker Carly Cox, assisted by junior midfielder Marie Moore.
The Buffs third goal was scored by junior midfielder Katie Macleay, and the fourth was scored by Cox, assisted by Macleay. With 25 minutes to play, the Buffs took a led 4-0.
Ten more goals would follow the Buffs through the rest of the half. By halftime, Link had already scored four of her five goals. Freshman attacker Samantha Nemirov would score her first two goals as a Buffalo in the first half, and junior defensive player Maddie DeWinter would score her first goal of the season.
Senior midfielder Sarah Lautman, freshman midfielder Miranda Stinson, and Moore would all have goals in the half as well to lead the Buffs to a 14-0 lead in the first 30 minutes of play.
It was a rather quiet day for junior goalie Paige Soensken, due to the domination of the Colorado offense. Soensken finished out the half with three saves, before retiring to the sidelines to cheer on fellow goalkeeper, freshman Julia Lisella.
Colorado made some changes to the lineup, following the start of the second, giving some game time experience to the younger members of the team.
Freshman midfielder Sophia Castillo had three goals during the last half of the game. Also scoring a hat trick was sophomore attacker Taylor Oliver.
The record breaking twenty-second goal was scored by Castillo, with five minutes left to play. Castillo was assisted by Nemirov.
Other goals from sophomore attacker Julia Sarcona, Link, and DeWinter helped the Buffs to clinch a 23-0 win of the Gaels.
Lisella finished out the second half with one save. Overall the Buffs had 11 turnovers in the game, St Mary’s had 18. Colorado also won 17 of 24 draw controls, proving that initial control over the ball is essential.
The Buffs had an astounding 41 shots on goal to the Gael’s seven shots. CU also had nine assists to their 23 goals, many of which came from players called up from the bench.
Overall the Buffs had three players score three or more goals, six players with with at least two goals, and 12 players score a goal in the shutout win.
“It’s not about records for us” head coach Ann Elliot said. “Our kids work very hard day-in and day-out in practice and they’re ready. I think it shows when they get their opportunities that they’re ready. They’re preparing for that moment.”
Colorado will play their second to last game of the season, and their final home game, this Sunday against California. The game will be played at Kittredge field at noon. It is also Senior day, and the Buffs encourage fans to help send-off their sole senior Sarah Lautman in her final home game.
