Boulder – Denver faced off against the Colorado Buffalos Sunday afternoon in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. DU built an early 4-1 lead but could not hold up the final three quarters, falling 11-9.
Denver took a 4-2 lead at the end of the first quarter. Denver had five turnovers to only one for the Buffs. DU Goalie Lexi Gwaku stopped 4 of 6 shots. Ripple buried half of DU’s first 15 minute tallies.
CU opened the scoring in second quarter. Denver’s Olivia Ripple countered with an outside target, 5-3. CU scored again and knotted the game with a man-up free-position strike, 5-5. CU took the lead after Ripple was charged for complaining about a series of cross checks from behind, 6-5, CU. CU doubled their lead on an inside pass and delivery, with 50 seconds left to end the scoring in the first half, 6-5.
CU came out hot with two goals in the first five minutes of the second half, 8-5. DU stopped the bleeding with a dunk by Kyra Obert. CU countered with the clock winding down and a free position strike to stretch the advantage to 3 goals. DU’s Caroline Bowers found pay dirt in the last minute of the period on a low grounder, 9-7, to end the quarter.
Colorado started running click, holding possession and beat Gwaku at 11:30. A minute later, the Buffs struck again and the clock and scoreboard shifted to the favor of the home team, 11-7. Eva Thomsen-Marr finally got DU on the board with five minutes left. Denver pulled within 2 on a Ryan Dineen fast break goal but time was running short. The Buffs ran possession and clock down the stretch. Final score 11-9, Colorado.
DU had an uncharacteristic 16 turnovers and created five less shots on goal. The officiating was uneven and CU scored 4 free position goals to none for the Pioneers. Ripple finished with 3 goals and Bowers finished with 2 goals and 1 assist.
Great season for DU! Outstanding job by the coaching staff and players.
Turnover margin and giving up free position goals was the difference. A very good season. Hope they can build on it for next year. This women’s program has built consistency as a league champ/NCAA advancer, where other some other DU programs have not been able to sustain the excellence DU had enjoyed in previous years over the last decade – M Lax, W Gymnastics, W Soccer, W Volleyball, M&W Swimming, W Golf. Props to Liza and her team for building a program the right way….
Should have subbed in David Carle as coach for this game.
The game had some strange moments. CU players getting foul calls in the box when they fell to the turf, back checks on DU players from CU with ‘no call’, a time expired CU possession that went back to CU on a quick start and two major clock management issues. CU clearly owned possession and deserved to win but an NCAA tournament game should be better managed. CU’s lacrosse facilities fell below most high school facilities in Denver. On a positive note, great French fries.