The Colorado Buffaloes women’s lacrosse team has developed a strong defensive identity early in the 2026 season. Led by senior captain Jess Peluso, who was named the 2025 Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, the Buffaloes have limited every opponent to fewer than ten goals per game. The team currently ranks fifth nationally in scoring defense and is seventeenth in caused turnovers per game.
Peluso attributes much of the team’s defensive success to trust among teammates. “I think the biggest key to our unit is just trust,” she said. “We’re all trusting each other. Whether that’s on rotations or our communication, it’s everything we do. We know the person next to us has our back. We just go in with confidence and trust each other.”
Colorado’s schedule has included games against some of the nation’s top offenses, such as Northwestern and Army, which feature two of college lacrosse’s leading active goal scorers: Madison Taylor and Brigid Duffy. Peluso emphasized that these performances are not coincidental but are instead a result of thorough preparation during practice sessions.
“During practice, we really do have a great scout that takes their roles to heart,” Peluso expressed. “They go 100 % every single day and get us prepared for every game that we have, so we’re not going out there blind. I give the scout team 100 % credit because they get us prepared in every single way possible.”
While Peluso has received individual recognition this season—including three Big 12 Defender of the Week awards—she stresses that leadership is distributed throughout Colorado’s defensive group. “I’m so grateful that I’m able to take on this role,” Peluso added. “But our entire defense, as a whole, is just one unit. We all look at each other in so many different ways as leaders.”
This approach has contributed to an improved scoring margin compared to last year; after five games, Colorado leads the Big 12 with a 4.20 scoring margin per game.
Peluso noted that her team’s focus extends beyond statistics: “Just knowing that the offense has our back and we have theirs,” she commented. “If they’re only going to score seven goals, we know we can only let in six. We take that to heart.”
The Buffaloes’ defense emphasizes moving forward quickly from mistakes and maintaining unity during play. “I think we’re all on the same page defensively,” Peluso noted. “If we make a mistake, it’s all of our fault. It isn’t just on one person. We bounce back from it and don’t look back. If we get scored on, we think about how we’re going to move forward and not let it happen again.”
Aggressiveness remains central for Colorado’s defenders; they have forced 53 turnovers this season—ten by Peluso herself—who now ranks third in program history for career caused turnovers.
“We take pride in that on defense,” Peluso said. “We’re going to be aggressive, we’re going to be disciplined, and we’re going to stick to our game.”
Colorado (4-1) will continue its challenging schedule with an away match against No. 8 Michigan (4-2) this Sunday at 11 a.m MT on B1G+. The Buffaloes are currently 2-1 against ranked opponents this season.
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