No. 9 Buffs Power Past Bears, Finish Regular Season 15-2

BERKELEY, Calif. – Colorado finished the regular season on a strong note on Sunday afternoon, defeating California 18-6 to improve to 15-2 overall, 7-1 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. Cal is now 4-12 (3-5 MPSF).
 
The win is the 50th in CU history as well as Colorado head coach Ann Elliott's 50th career win. Elliott has guided the Buffs to a 50-22 mark in four seasons.

The ninth-ranked Buffs had a pair of players with four goals to lead the way, junior Darby Kiernan and sophomore Miranda Stinson. Another player, Johnna Fusco, had a hat-trick. In total, CU had eight different goal scorers in the win.
 
WHAT HAPPENED: The two sides exchanged goals to start the game. Fusco recorded the first at 27:04 and the Bears answered at 24:47 with their first marker of the day. The Buffs went back up by one 10 seconds later with a goal by Carly Cox before Cal evened the game up at 23:22.
 
After Cal's second goal, the Buffs' offense exploded as they recorded five straight from Marie Moore, Fusco, Cali Castagnola and back-to-back goals from Stinson.
 
The Bears ended CU's scoring run at 6:19 with a free-position goal by Susie Rupp, but Stinson came back 50 seconds later with her third goal of the game, her fifth hat-trick of the season, to put CU back up by five (8-3). Kiernan and Jen Mistretta each tallied a goal for the Buffs late in the game before Castagnola tallied her second marker of the game on a free-position attempt with one second left in the half, giving CU the 11-3 advantage.
 
Colorado scored the first six goals of the second half, extending its scoring streak to 10-0. Kiernan recorded the first two goals of the frame for her 12th hat-trick of the season, putting CU up 13-3, resulting in a running clock for the ninth time this season. Fusco tallied her third goal for her ninth hat-trick of the season, the 35th of her career, putting CU up 14-3.
 
The Buffs kept attacking, recording three more goals from Moore (her second of the day), Kiernan and Katie Macleay to go up 17-3 before the Bears broke the scoring run with a goal at 11:57. CU answered with another goal from Stinson before Cal tallied two straight for the final goals of the game (18-6).
 
DEFENSE: CU's defense was led by goalkeeper Paige Soenksen, who recorded eight saves in the win. She stopped six shots in the first half and had another two in the second half. The Buffs also had six caused turnovers in the game. Kelsie Garrison and Sarah Brown each had two, while Molly Rovzar and Stinson accounted for the other two.
 
KEY STATISTICS: Colorado cleared at 100 percent (16-16), while Cal cleared on 13-of-16 tries. The Buffs also converted on 4-of-5 free-position attempts and the Bears were held to 1-of-5. CU also led in shots (29-18), draw controls (18-7) and saves (8-7). The Buffs committed 22 fouls, compared to 24 by the Bears, and had 12 turnovers to Cal's 14.
 
NOTABLE:

• In the three games since the loss to USC, CU has not trailed, has been tied for just 12:23 and has led for 167:37.
• This is also the 10th game this year the opponent never led.
• CU's 15-2 overall record is the best in school history. The previous best was 13-5 in 2016.
• The 7-1 mark is the best in MPSF play for the Buffs. The previous best was 7-2 in 2016.
• This was the first win for the Buffs in Berkeley and the series is now tied up 2-2.
• This is the eight time this year CU has scored 18 or more goals in a game. The Buffs have scored double-digits goals in all but three of its 17 games this year.

TEAM LEADERS:

Colorado
Points: 25
Goals: 18
Assists: 7
Draw Controls: 18
Ground Balls: 13
Saves: 8
 
California
Points: 10
Goals: 6
Assists: 4
Draw Controls: 15  
Ground Balls: 14
Saves: 7