Colorado finished its 2021 season with a lopsided loss to Stanford in the Pac-12 championship game, failing to receive an NCAA tournament bid.

Now, less than a year later, the Buffs have taken last season’s lessons to heart.

“After last season ending in the Pac-12 championship game and not making the tournament, this year, everyone’s coming in with a focused mindset and a drive to want to do better and win the Pac-12 championship and get further into the tournament,” senior attacker Charlie Rudy said. “I’m proud of everyone’s attitudes and coming out here and giving it everything they have every day, no matter what their role is on the team.”

This mentality has worked out for Colorado so far. The Buffs kicked off the season 5-0 for the first time since 2017 — including commanding wins over former No. 16 Vanderbilt and UC Davis over the weekend. These victories propelled Colorado into the Nike/USA Lacrosse Top 20 at No. 19.

For coach Ann Elliott Whidden, taking things game by game during the non-conference slate has been one key to success.

“From last year, we know non-conference is really important,” she said. “We struggled last year in our non-conference [games], and I think it hurt us at the end of the year when we were looking to play in the NCAA tournament. It’s been important for us to start off as strong as we can and learn from each game and hopefully keep getting better.”

The Buffs’ non-conference victories have been primarily powered by a dynamic, deep offense. Rudy, last week’s USA Lacrosse Magazine Division I Women’s Player of the Week, leads the team with 17 goals, tied with fifth year attacker Sadie Grozier. All in all, eleven different players have scored this season. All 11 tallied goals against UC Davis and seven scored against Vanderbilt.

Rudy emphasized the unit’s focus and motivation this season and how it has played an important role in their improvement. She also credited Grozier’s leadership, saying she has done a good job keeping the team on the same page.

Elliott Whidden said she’s excited about where Colorado is offensively, calling the team’s depth a strong improvement from years past.

“That’s a big growth thing for us over the past few years, where it might have been a little easier to key on a few people,” she said. “Now, where we’re at, we have more players in different positions that can do a bunch of different things for us. It’s really exciting to see.”

The Buffs’ defense, while a bit younger, has held strong. Fifth-year defender Macaul Mellor and senior defender Sabrina Robbins are the unit’s veteran leaders, each recording five caused turnovers. Junior goalkeeper Grace Donnelly is a new starter but has quickly adjusted to the role.

Colorado’s victories over the weekend also marked its first weekend playing two games in 2022. The Buffs outscored their opponents 35 to 24 in the process. Elliott Whidden said she was especially impressed with the team’s ability to pivot with little time for preparation.

Last season, team members were often in and out of practice because of COVID-19. Colorado’s fast-paced, successful weekend was the “first real test” of a typical college lacrosse season — one the team passed with flying colors.

“Nothing’s been perfect for us,” Elliott Whidden said. “We’ve been challenged a lot. We’ve come out on the right side of a few things where we came out on the wrong side last year. But this team is really in it for each other. They’re committed to doing their role. They’re excited for everybody that’s able to step up.”

NUMBERS OF NOTE

9-2

When Syracuse trailed Duke 9-2 at the end of the first quarter on Sunday, the team’s Twitter tweeted the classic “a whole lot of game left to play.” Well, they were right. The Orange stormed back from a seven-goal deficit in the first quarter, taking down the Blue Devils 18-16. Senior attackers Meaghan Tyrrell and Megan Carney were keys in the comeback, recording five goals each.

5

East Carolina took down Stetson 18-8 on Monday behind eight points from senior attacker Megan Tryniski. The New York native tied her own school record for single-game points and broke the Pirates’ single-game record with five assists. Now, East Carolina is 5-2 — tied for the most victories it’s had in a single season.

2

Boston College defeated Denver in three quarters on Wednesday, breaking the Pioneers’ 21-game winning streak at home in a 9-5 victory. The reason for three quarters? A two-degree wind chill at Peter Barton Stadium.

14

Butler dominated Presbyterian 20-4 in South Carolina on Wednesday. The victory was a true team effort, with 14 players scoring. Sophomore goalkeeper Aleigh Monroe was a huge part of the win, too, recording a .788 save percentage through 45 minutes of play.