Buffs down Aztecs in Big 12 opener

The Buffaloes celebrate one of their 16 goals amid a dominant win over San Diego State. (Photo by Nick Rauscher/Sko Buffs Sports)

The Colorado Buffaloes women’s lacrosse team had an electric opening to Big 12 conference play, defeating the San Diego State Aztecs 16-5. 

The Buffs dominated, especially in the second half, outshooting the Aztecs 40-19 and having less than half as many turnovers, with the Buffs recording eight and the Aztecs giving up 19.

The Buffs (7-2, 1-0 Big 12) started the scoring early with Jaimey Hill and Rachel Kennedy scoring minutes into the first quarter. They gave the Buffs an early lead, going up by two on the Aztecs. The Aztecs were quick to respond with two of their own.

The Buffs scored a few more goals from Kennedy and Teagan Ryan, sending the Buffs into the second quarter leading the Aztecs 4-3.

The Buffs turned up the heat in the second quarter, dramatically pulling away from the Aztecs with four unanswered goals. Rowan Edson had her first goal of the game early in the second, followed by Molly Reed with one and Maddie Shoup with two goals later in the quarter.

The second half started with a Buff goal, which was quickly answered by SDSU putting up two of its own. Those would be the last scores for SDSU for the rest of the game. Goals from Shoup, Kennedy, Edson, Assini, and Averi Gardner gave the Buffs a commanding lead over the Aztecs bringing the score to 16-5. 

The standout player for the Buffs, though, was Lilly Assini. She had an incredible second half, scoring four goals in the third and fourth quarters and finishing the game with four goals and two assists. This put her at 103 career points. Coming into this game, she had 97 career points, so a big game for Assini pushed her over the 100 career-point milestone.

Assini was joined in her milestone by her friend and roommate, Shoup. Shoup came into this game with 96 career points, and with three goals and two assists on the day, Shoup came out of the game at 101 career points. 

“Maddie is one of my best friends, she’s my roommate, so it’s a special day for both of us,” said Assini when asked about sharing the milestone with Shoup. “And to be able to do it together has been amazing, so I'm really lucky and grateful for that.” 

With this dominant win, the Buffs continued their home hot streak, bringing them to a perfect 5-0 on home turf. 

The Buffaloes will travel down to Gainesville, Florida, to take on the Florida Gators on Saturday at 10 a.m. MT.