After strong start, Colorado lacrosse eyes Big 12 dominance

Colorado Bufaloes women’s lacrosse prepping for a game. (Photo by Xavier Beltran/Sko Buffs Sports)

Colorado Buffaloes women’s lacrosse is ready to launch into Big 12 Conference play. 

CU has spent its non-conference play fanning the flames to hopefully ignite a run to the Big 12 title. Displaying their defensive prowess and offensive flair, the Buffs are ready to charge into the back half of their season. 

The Buffaloes finished non-conference play with a 6-2 record, with their only two losses coming on a road trip to the East Coast. Both games were close losses to daunting ranked teams, No. 18 Stony Brook (9-7) and No. 8 Michigan (8-7). 

Aside from those two losses, Colorado has been running up wins and remains undefeated at home. Most notably, in its season opener, CU secured a nail-biting win against No. 2 Northwestern on the road, 10-9. The Buffs are currently on a two-game win streak, picking up two at home against Stetson and UConn. 

CU’s defense has been setting the tone this season, having allowed fewer than 10 goals in every game to date. They have been powered by sophomore goalkeeper Elena Oh, senior defender and team captain Jess Peluso.

Oh has picked up four Big 12 Goalkeeper of the Week awards, is sixth in the NCAA for save percentage (.525) and second in goals against average (6.22). Peluso, the 2025 Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, has led the Buffaloes with 16 ground balls, 12 caused turnovers and 23 draw controls. 

The Buffaloes aim to maintain momentum as they enter a uniquely crafted Big 12 conference featuring San Diego State, Florida, Cincinnati, UC Davis and Arizona State. Colorado hopes to demonstrate their dominance as the only No. 10-ranked Big 12 team currently sitting at No. 9 in the nation. 

San Diego State (2-7)

With the most losses in the Big 12, SDSU is not one of the heavyweights. The Aztecs lost games to California, Oregon, East Carolina, South Carolina, Penn State, Columbia and Kent State.

The only wins San Diego State has under its belt are its second game of the season against FDU and its most recent game against Akron. The Aztecs are led by sophomore midfielder Keira Doyle-Odenbach, who picked up Big 12 Midfielder of the Week on March 18. She leads SDSU with 21 goals on the season. 

Colorado will be just the second ranked team that San Diego has faced this season. The two will face off on Saturday at Prentup Field. 

Florida (7-2)

Florida will be one of the most formidable teams that Colorado faces in the Big 12. The Gators are ranked No.1 in the NCAA for clearing percentage, No 18 in points per game and No. 3 for scoring offense. The Gators are a very well-rounded team, having three players earn Big 12 honors last week. 

Senior defender Theresa Bragg was named Defensive Player of the Week, sophomore attacker Clark Hamilton earned Attacker of the Week and freshman midfielder Caroline Hoskins earned Freshman of the Week. 

Florida opened their season with a loss to No. 8 Michigan. However, their luck quickly changed as they won the next eight of nine games, including over No. 19 Loyola Maryland and No. 7 Clemson. The Gators are currently on a four-game win streak heading into conference play. 

Colorado hopes to slow down the hot Florida team on its turf on April 4. 

Cincinnati (8-4)

Cincinnati will be another challenging game for the Buffaloes. This will be only the second all-time meeting between the two programs, and CU hopes to maintain its 1-0 record over the Bears.

The Bears opened their season with a win against Xavier but then hit a rough patch, going 1-2 in their next three games. They hit their stride midseason, where they won five of their next six games. In Cincinnati’s most recent game, it scored its season high of 22 goals in a commanding win against Youngstown State, 22-3. 

Sophomore attacker Paige Selhorn leads the Bears’ offense with 39 goals, 36 assists and 75 points in non-conference play. Colorado’s defense has to hold down Selhorn and Cincinnati’s offense if it wants to secure the win. 

The Buffaloes will host the Bears at Prentup Field on April 11.

UC Davis (5-5)

This hot-and-cold UC Davis team has struggled in non-conference play. 

The Aggies lost four of their first six games, including a season-opening loss to No. 5 Stanford, 23-7. They were, however, able to pick up wins against Florida State and California. UC Davis went on a three-game win streak from there, defeating opponents by an average margin of 12.5 goals. Their momentum ground to a stop with a loss to unranked Marquette, 13-12. 

The Aggies have threats on both ends of the field. Senior midfielder Rhea Cosand has a career-high five goals against Marquette and 15 assists in non-conference play. In the net for UC Davis is sophomore goalkeeper Emily Altshuler, who was named Big 12 Goalkeeper of the Week after a career-high 11 saves against Marquette. 

Colorado will head back on the road to face the Aggies on April 19 in Davis, California. 

Arizona State (5-6)

Despite Arizona State’s less-than-stellar record, the Buffaloes will have to stay on their toes to defeat the Sun Devils in their final game of the season. 

Anna Viglione, junior midfielder for the Sun Devils, has secured Big 12 Draw Specialist of the Week honors twice this season. She tallied back-to-back games with double-digit draw controls with 18 against Akron and 12 against Mercer. Following the Mercer game, Viglione became the second active DI player to reach 400 career draw control marks. 

One of the most tested teams in the Big 12 has had a rocky time in non-conference play. It opened its season with two losses to Oregon and No. 22 Denver. Arizona State then went on to win five of its next six games. Its luck quickly turned as it went on a three-game losing streak to close non-conference play, including to No.4 Navy and No. 2 Stanford. 

The Buffaloes will end their season and celebrate their seniors on April 24 on Prentup Field against Arizona State.