Buffs roll past Arizona State, punch ticket to Big 12 Final

Colorado women’s lacrosse huddling during a timeout. (Photo by Kainoa Hiatt/Sko Buff Sports)

Colorado’s postseason hopes stay alive as they deliver a beatdown to Arizona State on neutral territory in Gainesville, Florida. 

No. 14 Colorado Buffaloes (12-3, 4-1 Big 12) defeated the Arizona State Sun Devils (8-9, 3-2 Big 12), 13-7 in the semifinals of the Big 12 Tournament. 

Senior attacker and team captain Maddie Shoup led all scorers with four goals. CU also had contributions from junior attacker Teagan Ryan and freshman attacker Rowan Edson, who each had three goals. 

Sophomore goalkeeper Elena Oh had an uncharacteristic night, having only one save for eight shots on goal. However, the Buffs were able to come away with the win by maintaining their defensive tenacity, having more draw controls (14), ground balls (20) and caused turnovers (13) than the Sun Devils. 

"Possession was huge for us," head coach Ann Elliot Whidden said. "The draw is huge for us, obviously today, but it'll be huge on Saturday against Florida as well."

Shoup scored the opening goal of the game after a play that feel apart for Colorado. It would then score back-to-back goals from Edson and junior attacker Jaimey Hill. 

The three-goal run was answered by Arizona State with a goal from senior attacker Lydia Oldknow to close the first quarter. 

Colorado opened the second quarter with back-to-back goals from Shoup and Ryan, giving them a comfortable four-point lead. However, ASU would quickly answer with a three-goal run of its own, led by Oldknow and senior attacker Teagan Lowery. 

The Buffaloes scored three more before the end of the quarter. Shoup and Edson each had a hat trick and Edson had a straight shot off a free position attempt to put CU up 8-4 going into halftime. 

Senior attacker Lily Assini opened the third quarter with yet another goal for the Buffs, which was quickly answered with a free-position goal for ASU. 

CU scored two more goals from Shoup and Ryan to extend its lead to six for the final quarter. 

The Sun Devils attempted to close the gap, scoring back-to-back goals at the beginning of the fourth quarter. However, Colorado refused to give up the lead and scored two more goals to end the game. 

Ryan had a hat trick and junior midfielder Averi Gardener closed the game for CU, sending it to the Big 12 finals. 

The Buffaloes will face Florida, which beat UC Davis 22-7 in the semifinal game. Colorado looks to avenge its loss to Florida from the regular season (9-7). The Big 12 Tournament finale is set for May 2, at 2 pm MT and will be streaming on ESPNU.