The Buffs mean business.

Entering Friday night’s home contest undefeated with close calls against Louisville and Ohio State, Colorado left little doubt against No. 16 Vanderbilt. Chloe Willard and Morgan Pence each scored four times with two assists as the Buffaloes earned an 18-11 win.

Charlie Rudy had three goals and two assists, and Grace Donnelly made seven saves. Vanderbilt held a 19-13 draw advantage but couldn’t hang on to the ball, as Colorado forced Vandy into 18 turnovers and won the battle on the ground 17-9.

Vanderbilt’s Ellie Hilsabeck fed Paige Finneran as time expired in the first quarter, knotting the score at 4. Th second quarter largely belonged to Colorado, though, as the Buffs took a 10-5 lead and went into the half ahead 10-7.

After Vanderbilt cut it to 10-8 on Callie Sundin’s score, Colorado went on a 4-0 run that extended the lead to 14-8. Starting with Rudy’s goal that made the score 11-8, Colorado scored eight of the final 11 goals of the contest.

Gabby Fornia had one goal and four assists for Vanderbilt (3-1), which also got four goals from Bri Gross. The Commodores can right the ship Sunday, as they stay in Colorado to take on No. 12 Denver.

Colorado (4-0) next plays UC Davis on Sunday.

INCREDIBLE TEMPLE COMEBACK

Temple earned a 14-11 win over UMBC, which, even in a loss, showcased that it is much improved in 2022. Temple (5-1) got six goals from Quinn Nicolai and a hat trick from Belle Mastropietro and needed every goal possible from its heavy hitters.

The Owls trailed 9-3 at halftime before a blistering second-half run that saw them outscore the Retrievers 11-2. Temple scored the first four goals of the second half, then after Dymin Gerow (five goals) scored for UMBC (3-2), Temple scored the next five for a 12-10 lead.

Abaigeal Ryan tied the score for Temple with 9:03 left, and Nicolai gave the Owls their first lead of the game 40 seconds later.

NOTABLE

• No. 12 Denver improved to 5-0 with a 13-4 win over UC Davis. Ellie Curry scored four goals, and Lauren Black had three goals and one assist. Ashley Laing made 10 saves for UC Davis (2-1).

• No. 17 Richmond continued its hot start with a 12-4 win over Coastal Carolina, pitching a second-half shutout after the first half ended with the Spiders ahead 5-4. Lindsay Frank had four goals for Richmond (5-0), and Hannah Close scored twice for Coastal (2-2).

• James Madison has now won three straight after an 0-2 start. The Dukes impressively took down Ohio State 15-4, allowing just two goals through three quarters. Isabella Peterson continued her excellent season with five goals. Lindsay Epstein scored twice for Ohio State (3-3).

HOW THE NIKE/USAL TOP 20 FARED

No. 12 Denver defeated UC Davis 13-4
​Colorado defeated No. 16 Vanderbilt 18-11
No. 17 Richmond defeated Coastal Carolina 12-4

FULL SCOREBOARD

Central Michigan 18, Saint Francis 6
Cincinnati 17, Kent State 11
Colorado 18, No. 16 Vanderbilt 11
No. 12 Denver 13, UC Davis 4
James Madison 15, Ohio State 4
Marquette 14, Canisius 9
No. 17 Richmond 12, Coastal Carolina 4
Temple 14, UMBC 11