CU Women's Lacrosse Falls to Northwestern 13-12 in Double Overtime in NCAA Quarterfinals

The Colorado Buffaloes season ended Wednesday in double overtime, falling to Northwestern 13-12 in the NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship quarterfinals. The Buffaloes led by as many as three goals in the second half but could not hold on, and Northwestern scored the winner in the second overtime period to advance.

Colorado jumped out to a 5-3 lead after the first quarter behind three goals from Teagan Ryan and two from Maddie Shoup. Ryan scored twice on man-up opportunities, and Shoup added a pair of her own, one assisted by Rowan Edson and another by Lily Assini. The Buffaloes controlled the first quarter and looked sharp in transition.

The second quarter was more of the same early. Colorado pushed the lead to 8-5 at one point, with Ryan adding a fourth goal and Shoup picking up two more assists. Rowan Edson scored to make it 7-5, and Rachel Kennedy capped the half with a goal assisted by Shoup to send Colorado into the break leading 8-6.

Northwestern came out of halftime with urgency. The Wildcats scored four goals in the third quarter to tie the game at 10, and Colorado could not stop the momentum. Shoup scored a free position goal to open the third and push the lead to 9-6, but Northwestern answered with four straight. Averi Gardner gave Colorado a brief 10-8 lead with a goal assisted by Edson, but the Wildcats tied it at 10 heading into the fourth.

The fourth quarter was a back-and-forth battle. Jaimey Hill put Colorado ahead 11-10 on a free position goal, and Shoup tied it at 12 with four seconds left in regulation to force overtime. The Buffaloes showed fight to the end, but Northwestern's Madison Taylor scored in the second overtime off an assist from Noel Cumberland to end the game.

Maddie Shoup led Colorado with four goals and four assists. She was the engine of the offense all game, finishing with eight points. Teagan Ryan scored four goals. Rachel Kennedy added one goal on five shots. Rowan Edson scored one goal and added two assists. Jaimey Hill scored one goal and had one assist. Averi Gardner added one goal and two ground balls. Lily Assini finished with two assists and three ground balls.

In goal, Elena Oh made 11 saves in 68 minutes and kept Colorado in the game throughout. She stopped several key shots in overtime, including two in the second overtime period, but the Wildcats finally broke through.

For Northwestern, Madison Taylor led all scorers with four goals and one assist. Taylor Lapointe added three goals and two assists. Maddie Epke scored twice. Aditi Foster had one goal and two assists and was active all game, finishing with eight shots. Jenika Cuocco made six saves in goal for Northwestern.

Colorado finishes the season 16-3. It is the best record in program history for CU women's lacrosse and the deepest NCAA tournament run the program has ever made. The Buffaloes led for most of this game and had multiple chances to close it out, but Northwestern's ability to convert on man-up opportunities in the third quarter changed the game. Taylor's four goals were the difference, and the Wildcats move on to the Final Four. Despite the loss, this season set a new standard for CU women's lacrosse and marked a turning point for the program.