GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (Feb. 16, 2019) – The Colorado State University-Pueblo women's lacrosse team lost 15-8 to No. 22 Colorado Mesa University in the 2019 season opener Saturday in Grand Junction, Colorado. 
 
Three players totaled three points in the loss. Junior Elyse Ingram (M, San Jose, Calif.) and freshman Tayllor Deim (M, Eagle, Idaho) both scored twice and added an assist. Senior Allison Wurscher (Tigard, Ore.) gathered three points with a goal and two helpers. Sophomore Olivia Tener (M, Boise, Idaho) scored twice from her defensive position and added three ground balls with a caused turnover and a draw control. 
 
Ingram added a team-best four draw controls with three ground balls and two caused turnovers. Sophomore Emily Eller (A, Keller, Texas) led the squad with four ground balls. 
 
Senior goaltender Ane Marie Horton (Long Beach, Calif.) finished with five saves. 
 
As a team, the Pack put 14 of their 16 shots on goal, while the Mavericks totaled 27 shots with 20 on frame. The turnover category was fairly even with the ThunderWolves giving up 26 and CMU totaling 23 giveaways. CSU-Pueblo led in ground balls 26-25 and totaled four free-position shots to the home team's two. The Mavericks won the draw control category 16-9, while the Pack had a better clearing percentage at 86.4 percent (19-for-22) to CMU's 72.7 percent (16-of-22).
 
The ThunderWolves won the final 33:52 of game clock 7-3 against the Mavericks, but the hole created in the opening minutes of the game proved to be too big. CMU came out and opened a 6-0 advantage just 5:05 into the first contest of the season for both teams. The score was 10-0 at the 14:14 mark before Wurscher netted the team's first goal of the season on a free-position shot with 9:14 left in the opening half. 
 
The Mavericks would score twice before Ingram found the back of the net with 3:52 remaining in the first half, as the ThunderWolves trailed 12-2 at the break. 
 
Wurscher assisted on the Pack's first two goals of the second half, as Tener got her first at 29:07 and then Deim welcomed herself to the college game with her first career goal at 27:12. 
 
CMU found two more goals to make it 14-4 before Tener potted her second of the game at 20:16 and junior Ali Doyle (A, Portland, Ore.) netted the team's first player-up goal of the season at 16:01. 
 
The Mavericks scored their final tally with 13:12 remaining in the game to open the 15-6 lead. Ingram and Deim scored their second goals of the contest just 21 seconds apart at 6:10 and 5:49, respectfully. Taylor Christensen (Sr., M, Colorado Springs, Colo.) assisted on Deim's second goal. 
 
The start of the season doesn't get any easier for the ThunderWolves, as they travel to No. 8 Regis University Feb. 20 for another nonconference bout against a nationally-ranked opponent. Game time in Denver is scheduled for 3 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.