Colorado had faced Stanford six times before Friday night, and it came away with six losses. The Cardinal were the nemesis that the Buffaloes could not crack — with the Buffaloes’ past three seasons ending at the hands of Stanford.
This season has been different for Colorado, which in its fourth season, started 11-0 and moved up to No. 4 in the Nike/US Lacrosse Top 20. And fittingly, the result when Colorado met Stanford on Friday night was different.
The Buffaloes got four goals from Johnna Fusco and Darby Kiernan en route to a commanding 13-8 win over the Cardinal to move to 4-0 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. In a game of runs, Colorado put together rallies of six and four goals to break the game open.
FUSCO GOAL! Buffs are now up 11-6 with 10:35 left. Fusco & Kiernan have 8 of the Buffs 11 goals, 4 apiece. #GoBuffs https://t.co/ddsHTF5Vbw
— Colorado Lacrosse (@CUBuffsWLax) April 7, 2017
For Stanford, a team with one win over an opponent with a winning record, it’s another lost chance at a quality win as the season heads toward the final stretch.
After a Stanford goal in the first minute, Colorado scored six straight goals to take hold of the game early in the first half. The Cardinal scored three straight to cut the halftime lead to 6-4.
Stanford cut the lead to one out of halftime, but Colorado answered with a four-goal rally to take a 10-5 lead with 13:10 left. That was enough breathing room for the Buffaloes, who cruised to the win.
The Buffaloes outshot the Cardinal 33-22, picked up 18 ground balls and won 13 of 23 draw controls. The Cardinal got two goals from Kelsey Murray, Anna Salemo and Daniella McMahon.
USC Trounces Oregon
Michaela Michael dropped eight points on six goals and two assists to lead No.10 USC to the 17-7 win over Oregon. The Trojans scored seven of the first eight goals and cruised to the conference win — their fourth straight.
USC led 9-3 after halftime, but Oregon scored two straight goals early in the second half to attempt to cut into the lead. Michael answered with two straight goals to boost the lead to 13-5 and give USC the necessary breathing room.
James Madison Picks Up Another CAA win
No. 19 James Madison scored 10 second-half goals to blow past No. 17 Elon and earn a 14-5 statement win against Elon in CAA play. Kristen Gaudian scored four goals for the second consecutive games to lead the Dukes to 2-0 in conference.
Gaudian found the back of the cage twice in the first half, helping give James Madison the 4-2 lead at the break. James Madison scored six of seven goals out of halftime to take command of the game.
The Dukes outshot the Phoenix 34-13 and forced 21 turnovers. Five different players scored for Elon, which picks up a loss in its first conference game of the season.
Towson Gets the Rebound Win
Kaitlyn Montalbano scored six goals and added an assist to lead No. 16 Towson past William & Mary by a 14-11 score to rebound from last week's loss to James Madison. She had four goals in the first half to allow the Tigers to take an 8-4 halftime lead, and they held on despite being outscored in the second half.
The teams went back-and-forth in the first period until Towson scored five of six goals to take the four-goal lead at halftime. William & Mary won 9 of 13 draw controls and outshot Towson 18-15 in the second half, but it wasn't enough to pull all the way back.