PUEBLO, Colo. (March 18, 2015 - by Michael Liptak)- The Colorado State University-Pueblo women's lacrosse team won 12-11 over Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference opponent Rockhurst University for their first win in program history Wednesday at the Art and Lorraine Gonzales Lacrosse Complex.
With the win the ThunderWolves improve to 1-5 (1-1 RMAC) on the season, while the Hawks drop to 1-5 and 0-3 in the RMAC.
Freshman Allye Webb (M, Colorado Springs, Colo.) had a team and career-high four goals for the ThunderWolves, while adding two assists to up her point total to six for the game. Webb included, the ThunderWolves had three players reach a hat trick. Alix Zierden (Fr., M, Elk River, Minn.) and Kiana Kelii (Fr., A, Bloomington, Minn.) were the other two adding three markers apiece. The three goals is a career-high for Kelii and ties the personal best for Zierden. Webb extends her team-high in goals and points to 11 and 14, respectively. Maxine Bartholomew (Fr., M, Elk Grove, Calif.) and Skylur Marshall (Fr., A, Aurora, Colo.) were the two other Pack players to get in on the action scoring a goal apiece for their first of their respective careers.
Rockhurst's Madeline Gilstrap had a contest-high eight points, two came from goals, while six were off of assists. Hannah Weisbrod was the team-leader in goals with four. Six hawks in total reached the back of the net.
CSU-Pueblo outdueled the Hawks in shots (27-26), groundballs (31-17), free-position shots (9-6) and forced turnovers (11-6). Nicole Burkhauser (Fr., G, Auburn, Wash.) had the advantage in saves 9-8, stopping 9-of-20 shots on goal. The only edge the Hawks had over the ThunderWolves was in draw-controls (18-7).
The first six minutes of the game were a defensive affair, before Kelii scored at the 23:42 mark to give CSU-Pueblo a 1-0 lead, its first in the young program's history. 59 seconds later, Rockhurst bounced back with a goal of its own to tie it 1-1 with 22:43 left in the period. Over the next 6:36, Webb scored two of her four goals to move the Pack in front, 3-1.
The ThunderWolves continued to hold a two goal lead, at 4-2, after both teams traded a goal each, but then Rockhurst had a two-goal outburst to tie it up 4-4 with 8:51 remaining before intermission. Over the nest 4:02, Webb punched in two more tallies as CSU-Pueblo took a 6-4 advantage. The Hawks added one more goal before halftime to make it 6-5 ThunderWolves heading into the break.
Zierden and Kelii both scored a goal each in the first 10 minutes of the second half, giving the home team an 8-5 lead. In the next two minutes, the Hawks scored two out of the game's three goals to cut the deficit to two, at 9-7. The next 3:55 was controlled by the Pack, as they accumulated two goals and made it an 11-7 deficit for the Hawks, the largest of the game, with 14:28 to go in the contest.
Rockhurst didn't make it easy for the Pack though, as they went a 3-0 run the next 9:53 to cut the lead to one, at 11-10, with 4:35 remaining. The Pack played keep away and controlled the time possession the next 3:39 before they scored off another Kelii shot to give themselves a two goal cushion, at 12-10, with 56 seconds remaining in regulation. The Hawks made it interesting and scored with 13 seconds, but the ThunderWolves won the ensuing draw-control to seal the 12-11 victory, their first in program history.
The Pack return to the field Friday at home, as they will welcome No. 15 Regis University at 7 p.m.
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As a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, Colorado State University – Pueblo competes in 22 varsity sports in NCAA Division II intercollegiate athletics.
