Buffs advance to second round of NCAA Tournament

Colorado attacker Maddie Shoup weaves between a pair of Dolphin defenders in the Buffs' first-round NCAA Tournament win (Photo by Isaac Sterling/Sko Buffs Sports).

The Colorado Buffaloes beat the Jacksonville University Dolphins 10-9 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. 

The Buffs started off the scoring with Maddie Shoup just 31 seconds into the game. Shoup then put another into the net with 12:27 left on the clock, giving the Buffs a 2-0 lead.

A few minutes later, CU added another goal as Jaimey Hill scored her first of the night. The Dolphins put one on the board late in the first quarter, and Hill scored her second with less than 30 seconds left, ending the quarter 4-1 Buffs.

The second quarter started with an early Dolphins goal, as they cut their deficit to two. The Buffs responded with a goal from Rowan Edson. Both teams scored again, but another goal by the Dolphins closed out the first half with the Buffs leading 6-4.

The Dolphins came into the second half in a dominant fashion, putting three more goals on the board. JU also held the Buffs to zero goals in the third quarter, not allowing CU to score once, and the third quarter ended 7-6, Jacksonville's first lead of the day.

JU came into the fourth quarter carrying the momentum gained from the third, scoring first in the quarter. Maddie Shoup was quick to respond for the Buffs, putting her third into the back of the net just six seconds later. The next score was from Teagan Ryan to tie up the game at eight. Ryan then put up another goal, but it was answered quickly by the Dolphins to tie up the game again at nine.

The game was ultimately won in a similar fashion to the teams’ regular-season meeting, as Edson put up another goal to give the Buffs a 10-9 lead with 6:06 left in the game. The Buffs held the Dolphins for the remaining time and won 10-9.

“I think we weren't ready to stop playing and just showed our fight in the fourth quarter," Shoup said. "Going into the fourth quarter, we had a lot of energy and a lot of momentum even though we were down." 

The Buffs fought hard to come up with the win. The only other time this season the Buffs were held scoreless in the third quarter was in their first loss of the season against Stony Brook.

The Buffs will now go on to face the Denver Pioneers at Prentup Field on Sunday. The game will take place at 1 p.m. MT. In the regular season, the Buffs beat the Pioneers 9-6 at Peter Barton Stadium. But the Pioneers put out a great performance against Florida, beating the Gators 16-8, so this is shaping up to be a real challenge for the Buffs. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.