The University of Colorado’s women’s lacrosse team, ranked No. 14, will play its conference home opener against the San Diego State Aztecs on Saturday, March 28 at noon Mountain Time.
This matchup marks the Buffaloes’ first Big 12 game of the season and comes after their recent nonconference win over UConn, where they secured an 11-5 victory. Sophomore goalkeeper Elena Oh made nine saves during that game, helping extend Colorado’s streak of holding opponents to single-digit scores for eight consecutive matches. Freshman attacker Rowan Edson achieved her first career hat trick with three goals and four points, while senior midfielder Lily Assini led all players with six points.
Head coach Ann Elliott Whidden said about Assini: “Lily’s an amazing player for us. She obviously plays in the midfield, so she plays on all sides, but she could be a top attacker or a top defender for us. She’s great on the circle and in transition. She showed up [on Wednesday] with a little bit of an edge and a purpose, and we saw that a little bit at the end of the second quarter. She does so much for us just in terms of the competitiveness and the mindset this team shows up with, and we need that from her every game.” Whidden also praised Edson: “Rowan is capable of so many different things,” she said. “I think [she is] gaining confidence and starting to understand her opportunities. When [teams] start to key in on a couple people, we have other people that can be aggressive and step up.”
Two Buffaloes received Big 12 Player of the Week honors this week: Oh earned her fifth Goalkeeper of the Week award this season—her ninth overall—and currently ranks second nationally for goals-against average at 6.22; Edson was named Big 12 Freshman of the Week for her performance.
Saturday’s contest will be Colorado’s twelfth meeting against San Diego State; Colorado has won all previous eleven matchups between these teams. The Aztecs come into Boulder after winning their last game against Akron by one goal (14-13), led by Mia Maechtel who has tallied twenty goals along with ten assists this season.
Last year marked Colorado’s return to Big 12 play where they finished conference action at four wins and one loss (8-8 overall). In their first year back in conference competition they collected eleven weekly awards including four straight Goalkeeper honors for Oh from March through April.
Looking ahead to Saturday’s matchup both teams seek strong starts within league play as fans can attend by purchasing tickets through CUBuffs.com/WlaxTix.
