Collawn, Lawless Honored

Pac-12 Players of the Week | Taylor's Top 5

BOULDER — After upsetting then-No. 14 Denver on Sunday, Feb. 28, University of Colorado lacrosse seniors Anna Collawn and Zoe Lawless have each earned recognition for their play in the 14-7 victory.
 
Collawn, a defender, was tabbed the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week, picking up CU's first conference weekly award of the season, while Lawless was named to U.S. Lacrosse Magazine's Taylor's Top 5, a new weekly column that will feature Taylor Cummings' top-five individual performers of the week.
 
In the win against the Pioneers, Collawn played solid defense with a game-high three caused turnovers and three ground balls that were key in a close first half that saw the Buffs own a 6-4 advantage heading into halftime. Collawn helped keep the Buffs in the lead with a pair of timely caused turnovers against DU's Bea Behrins in the first 10 minutes of the game. She also had one against Kayla Derose.
 
She also tied for the team lead in ground balls with three. Her tough defense helped the Buffs limit DU's opportunities, especially in the second half as the Pioneers only recorded six shots, five of which were on goal. CU also cleared well (14-17) at 0.824%. Collawn's speed in transition helped CU get back on offense quickly.
 
She is now the fourth Buff to be named the conference defensive player of the week, joining Sarah Brown, Eliza Cahill and Julia Lisella.
 
On offense, Lawless recorded a career-high five points, three goals and two assists, to help the Buffs pull away from Denver. The attacker's first goal came with 9:53 left in the second half to put the Buffs up by two (9-7) and ended DU's scoring (the Pioneer's last goal was their seventh goal of the game). She was just getting started as she scored a pair of man-up goals for the Buffs as well, which were the 11th and 14th of the game. Her two man-up goals are tied for second in CU single-game history.
 
Additionally, Lawless played a part in a pair of CU goals. She had the assist on Charlie Rudy's first goal of the game in the first half (CU's second marker of the game) and she had the assist on Rudy's third goal of the game, a man-up goal, which came with 3:35 left to play. It was one minute before Lawless would score her final goal of the game at 2:36. Lawless took four shots in the game and three were on goal (0.75%).
 
She also added a pair of ground balls in the victory, which was CU's first win over a ranked opponent since May 10, 2019, when the Buffs defeated #18 Dartmouth in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
 
The other four players recognized in the inaugural Taylor's Top 5 include:
— Asa Goldstock, Syracuse
— Emma Trenchard, North Carolina
— Izzy Scane, Northwestern
— Ali Baiocco, Stanford
 
Colorado's next game is March 12 against Oregon at 3 p.m. in Boulder, which is also the Pac-12 opener for both teams.