Rudy’s Seven Goals Not Enough As Buffs Fall To Sun Devils

TEMPE, Ariz. – University of Colorado junior Charlie Rudy recorded seven goals, but in the end, it was not enough as the Buffaloes fell 16-11 to Arizona State on Sunday afternoon at Sun Devil Stadium.
 
This is the second time in a week Rudy has scored seven goals in a Pac-12 game. She also did it in CU's 15-5 win over Cal on March 22, but while ASU could not stop Rudy, the Sun Devils were able to slow down the Buffs' other offensive leaders, holding Zoe Lawless and Sadie Grozier to just one goal apiece.
 
In fact, no Buff other than Rudy was able to record more than one goal as the other two markers were scored by Morgan Pence and Devon Bayer.
 
Colorado's defense was kept busy and Julia Lisella tied a career-high 17 saves in the effort as 33 of ASU's 40 shots were on goal.
 
The Buffs did get off 29 shots of their own, putting 22 on goal. ASU's goalkeeper Berkeley Bonneau stopped 11 of those 22 and seven of her saves were in the second half, which prevented CU from making its comeback.
 
"Arizona State is a very well-coached team who comes to compete," Colorado coach Ann Elliott Whidden said. "We knew that going in and knew it was going to be a grind for us. We didn't show up to win and we didn't execute again down the stretch. This is becoming a trend for us and we have to make the decision as a team that we want to win and we are willing to do what it takes to win. Part of that is people stepping up and not playing scared.
 
"At this point, I do not know what we are scared of, we are 3-5 and 1-3 in Pac-12. We have nothing to lose. We are lucky enough to get a second chance this coming weekend versus USC and ASU at home. We have a lot of work to do as we prepare for these games again. I have no doubt we can be successful and we have the players to get the job done; we just have to decide to put everything we have into it."
 
Following the win, ASU is 7-2 overall and 4-1 in league play.
 
WHAT HAPPENED: The Sun Devils scored two quick goals in the first 2:03 of the game. But like the Buffs did against USC, they came back with a run, recording four straight goals.
 
Rudy got it started for the Buffs, finding the back of the net at 25:55. She then had the assist on the following goal 50 seconds later as Lawless recorded her only marker against ASU to even the game. Rudy scored the following two goals in the 4-0 run for CU, one as assisted (Liz Phillips) at 23:27, while the other came at 21:16 and was unassisted.
 
ASU ended the Buffs' run with a goal at 19:17, but CU went back up by two with another Rudy goal, this time a free-position goal, at 12:34.
 
The momentum shifted in favor of the Sun Devils as they tied the game up just over a minute after Rudy's free-position goal. Then with 6:55 left in the half, they retook the lead (6-5). Both goalies played tough defense, making big stops. But in the final minute, Rudy again found the back of the net to pull the Buffs even heading into halftime.
 
Arizona State scored four straight to open the second half, taking a 10-6 lead before Rudy earned her second free-position goal of the game to bring CU within three (10-7). The two sides exchanged the following two goals, as Pence tallied her third of the season to once again pull the Buffs within three (11-8) with 18:10 to play.
 
Then the Sun Devils rattled off three straight in six minutes to take a 14-8 advantage with just under 12 minutes to play. Rudy scored her third free-position goal with 10:30 left on the clock and Bayer recorded a goal with 8:14 left to bring CU within four (14-10).
 
With just under five minutes to play, ASU notched its 15th goal of the game and a minutes later added another. The Buffs did get one final goal from Grozier, who recorded the final one of the game at 2:22.
 
KEY STATS: ASU won 20 of the 29 draw controls, which led to a 40-29 advantage in shots.
 
NOTABLE:

• Charlie Rudy has scored in 13 straight games dating back to the season opener of the 2020 season.
• Rudy has recorded a hat-trick in seven of the eight games this season (the only one she did not was against Louisville, the season-opener when she scored two)
• Rudy's three free-position goals are a career-high, which ties her for fourth in CU's single-game list
• Julia Lisella recorded 17 saves, which tied her career-high and is tied for the fourth-most in program history. The other time she posted that many saves were against USC on March 16, 2018.
• Sadie Grozier has recorded at least one point in each of CU's eight games this season.
• CU is 4-1 against ASU. This was the Buffaloes' first loss to ASU.

 
 
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UP NEXT: Colorado heads back home to Boulder to close out the home portion of its schedule. It will host USC on April 2 and Arizona State on April 4.