Both Colorado Programs Win in NCAA Tournament First Round, Set Up Sunday Rematch in Boulder

BOULDER, Colo. -- Colorado's two Division I women's lacrosse programs both won Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, setting up a second-round matchup Sunday at 1 p.m. on ESPN+ at Prentup Field in Boulder.

No. 8 Colorado defeated Jacksonville 10-9 in a back-and-forth finish. Denver knocked off Florida 16-8 in a dominant second half.

Colorado 10, Jacksonville 9

The Buffaloes led 4-1 after one quarter and stretched the lead to 6-4 at half, but Jacksonville outscored Colorado 3-0 in the third quarter to take a 7-6 lead into the fourth. Jacksonville pushed the lead to 8-6 with just over 13 minutes left, and the Buffs answered with four straight goals to go ahead for good.

Senior Maddie Shoup scored six seconds after Jacksonville's go-ahead goal to make it 8-7. Teagan Ryan tied it at 8-8, then scored again to give Colorado a 9-8 lead. Jacksonville answered to tie it at 9-9, and freshman Rowan Edson gave the Buffs the final margin at 10-9 with 6:06 remaining.

Shoup finished with three goals and an assist. Ryan and Edson each scored twice. Ryan extended her goal-scoring streak to eight straight games with two goals in the fourth quarter.

Goalkeeper Elena Oh, who entered the game leading the nation in goals against average at 6.32, made four saves. Colorado held its opponent under 10 goals for the 18th time this season.

Photo by Remi Krupinski

"We weren't ready to stop playing and just kind of 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."

Colorado is now 8-0 at home this season and has won eight straight. This is the program's third NCAA Tournament second-round appearance in history, also reaching the second round in 2018 and 2019.

Denver 16, Florida 8

Denver trailed 4-1 after one quarter but outscored Florida 15-4 the rest of the way. The Pioneers tied the game in the second quarter on goals from Caroline Bowers and Eva Thomsen-Marr, went ahead before halftime, and then scored three straight to open the third and never looked back.

Caroline Keil led all scorers with five goals, tying the record for most goals in an NCAA Tournament game. Olivia Ripple added four goals and two assists. Thomsen-Marr tallied three goals and three assists. Goalkeeper Lexi Gwaku made 10 saves.

Photo by Remi Krupinski

Ryan Dineen scored her 100th career goal and recorded her 99th and 100th career assists in the win.

The 16-8 margin was the largest loss Florida suffered all season. Denver is now 3-0 in NCAA Tournament games played in Colorado.

Sunday Matchup

Colorado and Denver split their regular-season meeting, with Colorado winning 9-6 on April 15. The two programs will meet Sunday at 1 p.m. at Prentup Field. The game will air on ESPN+.