In the first-ever Pac-12 lacrosse game, featuring then-No. 20 Colorado and Stanford on Friday, Buffs senior attacker Darby Kiernan put on quite the show.
Kiernan recorded a team-high eight points on five goals and three assists – including the assist to Anna Collawn for the first-ever Pac-12 goal three minutes in – plus nine draw controls to lead Colorado to an 18-16 win. She also added two ground balls.
Kiernan’s performance earned her Brine/US Lacrosse Player of the Week honors.
And @CUBuffsWLax is on the board first! Making history, Kiernan assists Collawn for the first @pac12 goal scored in the first Pac-12 #NCAAWLAX game. | WATCH No. 20 Colorado vs. @StanfordWLax https://t.co/1nKxuWSLqv pic.twitter.com/OoonfSXmaX
— US Lacrosse Magazine (@USLacrosseMag) March 9, 2018
But what’s more impressive than the stat line was her comeback effort after Colorado trailed by seven with 7:43 remaining in the first half.
Kiernan scored the final goal of the period to spark a six-goal run spanning both halves and make it a one-goal game 10 minutes after the break.
When the Cardinal went back up by four with under 15 to play, Kiernan took the game into her own hands, scoring three straight goals to make it 16-15 at the 9:11 mark. She then assisted Carly Cox for the game-tying goal with 7:54 left and Jen Mistretta for the go-ahead goal 51 seconds later.
Kiernan then followed that performance with seven points (six goals, one assist) in the Buffs’ 15-5 win over Cal two days later, becoming the school’s career points leader with 223. She also tallied seven draw controls, two ground balls and one caused turnover.
With two wins in three days, Colorado jumped five spots in the Nike/US Lacrosse Division I Women’s Top 20 to No. 15.