CU Edges ODU 12-10 Behind Strong Second Half

BOULDER – Behind a second half surge, the University of Colorado lacrosse team edged its final non-conference opponent of the regular season, taking down Old Dominion 12-10 here Friday.

For the third time in as many games, the Buffaloes battled back from a first half deficit to claim the win. The Lady Monarchs went on a 4-0 run in less than three minutes time to grab a three-goal lead with 11:09 remaining in the first half. Down 7-5 at the break, the Buffs outscored the Lady Monarchs seven to three in the final 30 minutes of regulation. For the ninth straight game, the Buffs have held their opponent to five or fewer second half goals.

ODU outshot CU 24 to 20 and scooped up five more ground balls (15 to 10), but Colorado dominated the draw 17 to seven. Though CU had eight more turnovers (21 to 13), ODU had 12 more fouls, grabbing 32, including 18 in the second half, to CU’s 20.

Colorado (9-6 overall, 5-2 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) did a great job of spreading the offense, with six Buffs netting goals. Amelia Brown was the top point-getter, recording a hat trick and contributing an assist. Sarah Lautman, Marie Moore, Cali Castagnola and Johnna Fusco each had two goals, while Katie Macleay had a goal and two assists.

“It’s nice [to see the strong offense],” CU head coach Ann Elliott said. “You can’t rely on just one person to win games. People are going to be off some days or people are going to be keyed on defensively so we need everyone every time we step on the field to be a threat and work the ball to get good opportunities.”

In the crease, Paige Soenksen, the reigning MPSF Rookie of the Week for two weeks running, grabbed 12 saves.

Old Dominion falls to 3-10, extending its losing streak to five, with all but their 19-8 loss to then-No. 16 Virginia coming by two or fewer goals. Emily Austerberry led the Lady Monarchs with four goals, all happening in the first half.

“ODU’s Emily Austerberry was having a first good half and she was a good shooter so we were trying to limit her touches with the ball,” Elliott said. “We put Annie [Morsches] in there to face guard her and hopefully shake things up a bit, at least take her out of the game. That gave us a couple more options at midfield to give our kids rest especially once Amanda [Salvadore] came out of the game with the yellow cards.”

The Buffs seemed primed to control the game early, holding possession for around four minutes to open the game, with Moore scoring off a free-position shot 4:15 into the first half. The Lady Monarchs then posted back-to-back goals by Ashmore Standing and Austerberry to go up a goal by the 10th minute.

In just over a one minute span, CU responded with two of its own to take its second and final lead of the first half. First, Macleay connected with Moore and then Fusco went unassisted to put the Buffs up 3-2 with 16:32 remaining.

ODU would grab its biggest lead of the game by 11:09, scoring four consecutive goals in 2:51. Austerberry would score three of her four goals during this run, while the Lady Monarchs scored off back-to-back free-position shots. Colorado finally put an end to the run with 10:21 remaining before halftime. Brown got two of her own, the second of which came from the 8-meter, to pull the Buffs within one.

With 5:30 left on the clock, ODU’s Carson Connor, assisted by Jessica Liberty, scored the final goal of the half.

“We didn’t switch it up too much,” Elliott said on the changes the Buffs made for the second half. “We called a few more set type plays here or there. We really just told our girls we have to dodge hard. We were very slow, very predictable in the first half and we weren’t really making them work. In the second half, we wanted to be more of a threat offensively, one-on-one, and get the ball moving.”

As they did to start the game, the Buffs were on an early attack to begin the second half. Castagnola took just 1:10 to get CU back within one goal.

“We probably didn’t come out as hard as we could have or should have but I think we stepped it up in the second half so it worked out,” Castagnola said.

Though CU was making an early push to tie things back up, ODU took little time to extend its lead back to two. With 27:02 left in the half, Morgan Gallagher scored from the 8-meter to push her Lady Monarchs up 8-6.

But as they’ve shown in each of their most recent wins, the Buffs are a force to be reckoned with in late game play. Taking over 15 minutes off the clock, CU would score six goals, helping to push the game out of reach for ODU. Lautman would put the plan in motion, scoring back-to-back goals to tie the game at 8-8.

“Sarah has been doing great, she’s able to step up in key moments and dodge hard,” Elliott said. “When other players are being keyed in like the last two games last weekend, she steps up for us and we’re excited about that. We’re excited to see that. We can win close games.”

After several free-position attempts, the Buffs finally found the right shot to grab their first lead since the 15th minute of the first half. Macleay, assisted by Brown, got the Buffs up 9-8, but they weren’t done yet. By 6:53, Fusco, Castagnola (off an FPS) and Brown had given CU a three goal lead.

“Old Dominion is a good team, we knew that coming in,” Elliott said. “They’re athletic, they play hard, they have solid fundamentals and for us, we came out a little slow and sluggish. We thought things were going to be handed to us and we needed to pick up the intensity offensively and defensively. We won a lot of draw controls in this game which really helped us have possession and more opportunities during that 6­0 run. We were able to pick it up enough on offense to get some good opportunities one-on-one and score some goals.”

Just 41 seconds after the final goal in CU’s run, ODU’s Carly Williams scored off a Morgan Marrale assist to get back within three. The Buffs held the Lady Monarchs scoreless for another five minutes plus to diminish ODU’s attempt at a comeback. With 49 seconds left, Standing scored from the 8-meter, but the Lady Monarch’s final push would be too little too late.

“After we play the game, we’re moving onto the next one and I think we were a little casual today for whatever reason,” Elliott said. “We have to turn that around quickly because we have a big game against Cal coming up on Sunday.”

The Buffs conclude the inaugural home season against conference opponent California on Sunday, April 20 at 11:30 a.m. Please be advised of several changes to Sunday’s game. The game has been moved from Prentup Field to CU’s regular home turf of Kittredge. Due to the venue change, the egg hunt has been cancelled and fans must be at Kitt by 11:30 a.m.

Colorado Scoring (Goals-Assists – Points): Amelia Brown (3-1 – 4), Katie Macleay (1-2 – 3), Sarah Lautman (2-0 – 2), Marie Moore (2-0 – 2), Cali Castagnola (2-0 – 2), Johnna Fusco (2-0 – 2).
Old Dominion Scoring (Goals-Assists – Points): Emily Austerberry (4-0 – 4), Ashmore Standing (2-0 – 2), Morgan Gallagher (2-0 – 2), Connor Carson (1-1 – 2), Carly Williams (1-0 -1), Jessica Liberty (0-1 – 1), Morgan Marrale (0-1 – 1), Megan Topper (0-1 – 1).