Three years ago, a group of 21 freshmen and two sophomores embarked on the first season of NCAA women鈥檚 lacrosse at Colorado. The young Buffs finished 11-8 in 2014.
Fast-forward to 2017, when the group of women that comprised coach Ann Elliott鈥檚 first CU recruiting class emerged as a force.
The Buffs finished the 2017 regular season with 15 wins, 2 losses and went undefeated (8-0) in 麻豆影院. The season included CU's first appearance in the MPSF Tournament title game (a 16-11 loss to USC) and the Buffs' first-ever NCAA Tournament berth.
CU started the season with an 11-10 overtime victory over No. 9 Northwestern, Elliott鈥檚 alma mater. By early March,the Buffs surged into the top five nationally聽(No. 4) for the first time after an upset, on-the-road win over Penn State, then No. 6 and unbeaten. On April 7, the team wrapped up its home slate without a loss by beating Stanford for the first time 鈥� on Senior Day. The Buffs capped the regular season with three consecutive road wins at San Diego State, Saint Mary鈥檚 and Cal, scoring a school record 24 goals against Saint Mary鈥檚.
There were 10 regular-season games in which the Buffs held the lead from the first goal onward. CU scored 18 or more goals eight times.
Junior Darby Kiernan (IntlAf鈥�18) led the way during the regular season with 48 goals and 20 assists. Senior Johnna Fusco (Comm鈥�17) was next on the team with 43 goals and nine assists, while senior goalie Paige Soenksen (Chin, IntlAf鈥�17) was 14-2 in 16 games played and made 127 season saves.
The Buffs鈥� two regular-season losses came at Stony Brook (ranked No. 5/6 at the time) and at Southern Cal (then No. 9).聽
Photo courtesy CU Athletics聽
