Buffs Head To Northern California For Pair Of Games

BOULDER — The Colorado lacrosse team will face a pair of opponents this week when the Buffaloes travel to Northern California.
 
CU will face UC Davis first on Friday, April 9. The Buffs were originally scheduled to face No. 15 Stanford on the same date, but due to COVID-19 issues and contact tracing within the Cardinal program, that game was canceled and CU was able to replace it with the contest against the Aggies. The game will be played in Davis, Calif., at UC Davis Health Stadium at 3 p.m. MDT.
 
The Buffs will then head to Berkeley, Calif., to take on Pac-12 foe California on Sunday, April 11. The two will play at 3 p.m. MDT at California Memorial Stadium.
 
Links to the live stream and stats for both games are available at CUBuffs.com.
 
Colorado is 5-5 and 3-3 in conference play after defeating USC and Arizona State in its final two games at home on April 2 and 4. Sadie Grozier led CU with nine goals and two assists and was named the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week, while Julia Lisella was named the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week, making 22 saves.
 
Grozier ranks second on the team with 25 goals and 34 points. Teammate Charlie Rudy leads the Pac-12 with 36 goals and has 39 points this season. Both are closing in on 100 career goals. Grozier has 93 and Rudy has 82. CU has been improving in the draw circle. Kate Burnside recorded a season-high 10 in the last game against Arizona State on April 4 and has 41 this season. Liz Phillips is also coming on strong and has 21. Lisella has played all 603:21 minutes in net. She has recorded a 10.54 goals-against average to lead the Pac-12 and her 51.7 save percentage is 10th in the NCAA and first in the conference.
 
ABOUT UC DAVIS: The Aggies are 7-3 this season and all three losses have come against Pac-12 opponents. They suffered a 16-9 loss to Stanford, a 20-10 loss to USC, and most recently a 19-14 loss to Arizona State on March 21.
 
Leading the Aggies is Sorana Larson with 37 goals. She also has a team-best with 47 points. Maddie Myers ranks second on the team in scoring with 30 goals. Kate Graham has been the best in the draw circle for the Aggies, recording 57 draw control wins. In goal, Tayler Mathieson has played 456:04 minutes, which includes all 10 starts. She has a 12.10 goals-against average and a 45.9 save percentage for a 7-3 record.
 
THE SERIES: The Buffs have never lost to the Aggies, owning a 4-0 advantage. This will be the first time the two former Mountain Pacific Sports Federation rivals have squared off since February 26, 2017, in Boulder, where CU won 18-5. CU and UC Davis played four times as members of the MPSF, twice in Boulder and twice in Davis, Calif.
 
ABOUT CALIFORNIA: The Bears are 2-9 this season, which includes a 0-5 mark in conference games. Cal has defeated Fresno State twice this season, once at home and once on the road.
 
Quinnlyn Mason and Marisa Kuberra are tied for the team lead with 18 goals, but Nikki Zaccaro has the team-high in points with 24. She has recorded 12 goals and 12 assists this season. In the draw circle, LizaBanks Campagna has recorded 59 wins to lead the Bears. Cal has used two goals this season, with Riley Drullinger seeing the majoring of time in net. She has recorded 396:48 minutes and has a 16.18 goals-against average and a 37.8 save percentage. Lily Rathbun has played in the other 262:45 minutes and has recorded an 11.87 goals-against average and a 31.6 save percentage.
 
THE SERIES: The Buffaloes lead the all-time series 7-2. The Bears won the first two meetings in 2014 and 15, but since then, it has been all CU. The Buffs won the earlier meeting this season 15-5 in Boulder, Colo., on March 22, 2021.
 
UP NEXT: The Buffs will have a break in the schedule before heading to Eugene, Ore., to take on the Ducks on April 23 for the conference finale.