GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (April 9, 2016) – Seeking revenge for a loss six days earlier, Colorado State University-Pueblo women's lacrosse could not pull off an upset as they fell to Colorado Mesa University by a 13-5 final Saturday.
In their second season, the Pack now holds a 6-5 record. The loss marked the Pack's first Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference defeat of the season. Colorado Mesa bettered its record to 8-3 (3-2 RMAC).
The five goals set a new season-low for the Pack. CSU-Pueblo fired 13 shots on the cage in the second half. However, a dominating goaltending performance from Jillian Pfeifer allowed the Mavericks to claim a 13-5 win. Pfeifer stood on her head making 11 saves on the Pack's 13 shots in the second half.
Leah Neumann (So., Naperville, Ill.) scored two goals to break the Pack's all-time single-season goals record set by Allye Webb (So., Colorado Springs, Colo.) in 2015. Neumann now has 29 goals on the season.
Sophomore Daniella Calvo (Spring, Texas) also netted two goals for the Pack for her first multi-goal game of the season. Calvo pitched in defensively with four caused turnovers and three ground balls.
Taylor Christsensen (Fr., Colorado Springs, Colo.) matched her own personal-best with eight ground balls. She leads the RMAC with 4.18 grounds balls per game. Christensen also caused two turnovers.
Just 20 seconds into the game, Neumann gave the Pack the lead when she fired in a feed from Sami LaBella (Fr., Pleasanton, Calif.). Neumann's 28th goal of the season put the Pack in front for the only time in the game. LaBella finished with a pair of assists.
The Mavericks rattled off three consecutive goals to take a 3-1 lead. Allison Wurscher (Fr., Tigard, Ore.) ended the CMU run when she tucked in a pass from Webb. Wurscher leads the Pack with a school-record 34 points. Her goal trimmed the Mavericks lead to one.
Another three-goal rally put CMU on top 6-2. The Mavericks kept the Pack scoreless for 15 minutes during this run.
With 6:39 left in the first half, Neumann stopped the Mavericks run and ended the Pack's drought. Neumann's record setting 29th goal of the season made it a 6-3 deficit.
In the final minute of the first half, the Mavericks put in a pair of goals to take an 8-3 lead into the break. CMU held a 14-9 advantage in ground balls in the first half.
The Pack scored the first two goals of the second half. Calvo potted both strikes for the Pack just two minutes apart. However, Calvo's goal with 22:38 left would be the Pack's last.
The Mavericks finished the game on a five –goal run. A rain delay stopped play for a while, but it did not slow down Pfeifer who controlled the second half with a.846 save percentage in 30 minutes of work.
Ane Marie Horton (Fr., Long Beach, Calif.) took the loss for the Pack. She made six saves in 16 shots. Nicole Burkhauser (So., Auburn, Wash.) made one save in 16:38 of relief.
The Pack will begin its final homestand of the season Tuesday when it hosts Rockhurst University. CSU-Pueblo's two-game home swing will begin at 4 p.m. at the Art & Lorraine Gonzales Lacrosse Stadium.
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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.
