(Story Courtesy of Colorado College Sports Information Department)
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – A dominant first half at both ends of the field propelled the Colorado College women’s lacrosse team to a convincing 21-7 victory over George Fox University on Sunday afternoon in the second round of the 2019 NCAA Division III Women’s Lacrosse Championship at Washburn Field.
CC improved to 18-1 and advanced to a regional semifinal of the NCAA Tournament for the fourth year in a row.
The Tigers will face No. 6 Salisbury University at a site and time to be announced early this week.
After the Bruins grabbed a 1-0 lead on Jennifer Burke’s tally 57 seconds into the game, Colorado College reeled off 11 consecutive goals to take command.
Less than a minute after Burke scored on the first possession of the contest, Allie Thuet leveled the score on a one-timer from the right side of the slot after taking a precision feed from Eva King, who was stationed below the goal line on the left side.
King put the Tigers ahead 56 seconds later on a free-position goal, and after Lauren Pejza scored from the 8-meter line, King struck for the second time after collecting a feed from Thuet and placing a shot in the top right corner.
Thuet and King factored in nine of CC’s first 11 goals and continued to make their presence felt in the program’s record books during the process.
Thuet, who led the team with career bests of five goals and eight points, became the 12th Tiger to record 50 or more goals in a single-season when she scored for the final time with 1:10 remaining in the first half.
With three goals and four assists, King climbed into second place on the program’s single-season list with 98 points.
She also became the second player in school history to produce 50 assists in a single-season when she set up Maggie O’Donnell’s tally with 13:53 remaining in the game.
Playing at home for the final time, Nikki Blair struck for a season-high four goals and finished the game with an even 100 to become the 16th Tiger to reach the century mark.
While offense was grabbing the headlines, the Colorado College defense was just as impressive while holding an opponent to fewer than 10 goals for the 13 time this season.
In fact, the seven goals were the fewest scored by George Fox in a game this season and only the third time the Bruins did not reach double digits. GFU entered the game ranked third in Division III averaging 18.31 goals per outing.
CC surpassed its season average of 17.06 goals per game when Blair registered the third of her four goals midway through the second half and reached the 20-goal mark for the sixth time this year on Bella Beattie’s marker with 2:40 to go.
The Tigers won 18 of 29 draw controls and produced a 31-16 margin in ground balls.
Thanks in part to its swarming defense, Colorado College finished with a 41-10 advantage in total shots.
Sophie Murphy led the Tigers with three caused turnovers, while Blair scooped up four ground balls.
Avery Bell grabbed a game-high five draw controls, while Avery Melville picked up four.
Lois Ray produced three goals and an assist for the Bruins, who finished the season with a 14-3 record.
Burke scored twice and led the Northwest Conference champions with six draw controls and three ground balls.