PUEBLO, Colo. –Colorado State University Pueblo women's lacrosse will open the home portion of its Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference schedule here this weekend with games against No. 3 ranked Regis and UCCS at the Art and Lorraine Gonzales Soccer and Lacrosse Stadium.

The ThunderWolves begin a season-long five-game homestand on Friday, March 31 at Regis at 4 p.m. and then will host UCCS on Sunday, April 2 with the opening draw beginning at 2 p.m.

CSU Pueblo, who is coached by interim first year coach Taylor Christensen, comes into this weekend's action sporting a 1-5 overall record and an 0-2 mark in the RMAC. The Pack, though, comes into this weekend's action having gone 1-1 in its last two games as they collected their first win of the season on March 21 at Erskine (21-5) and then suffered a 19-13 loss the next day on March 22 at Catawba. The win at Erskine snapped a four-game losing skid to open the 2023 season.

Offensively, the Pack have scored 75 goals in six games and are averaging 12.5 goals per game as senior midfielder Sedona Sargent (Bellingham, Wash./Sehome) leads the way with 13 goals and has added seven assists for 20 points. In addition to Sargent, freshman midfielder Elise Magee (Port Moody, British Columbia/Dr. Charles Best Secondary) has also scored 13 goals.

Overall, six Pack players have tallied double-digit goals on the year as senior midfielder Ciara Lessick (Oregon City, Ore./Oregon City), who was named this week's RMAC Offensive Player of the Week, has tallied 11 goals and four assists for 15 points, while freshman midfielder Katie Broom (Houston, Texas/Spring), sophomore attacker Parker Delp (Kent Island, Md./Kent Island) and junior midfielder Baylee Mee (Reno, Nev./Galena) have each had 10 goals.

Broom leads the team in assists with 10, while Sargent is just behind her with seven assists.

Sargent also leads the team in shots with 30, while Broom and Delp are next on the list with 23 and 22 shots respectively.

Lessick has controlled the draws this season for the Pack as she has recorded 33 and has picked up 12 ground balls, while Mee has had 24 draws and a team-leading 18 ground balls. Broom has also collected 12 ground balls on the year.

Defensively, the Pack are allowing 15.8 goals per game and have caused 42 turnovers on the season with Mee leading the way with eight, while Broom and Lessick have each caused five on the season. CSU Pueblo has allowed double-digit goals in five of its six games and have allowed 20 or more goals two times.

In goal, sophomore Naomi Price-Burton (Aurora, Colo./Grandview) has played every minute this season in net as has recorded 43 saves and has allowed 95 goals. Her 7.2 saves per game are fourth in the RMAC.

ABOUT REGIS
Regis University comes into Friday's game with the Pack sporting an undefeated 7-0 overall record and are 1-0 in league play after opening RMAC play with a 15-7 win at home on March 24 against UCCS.The Rangers have won seven straight games and are currently ranked No. 3 in the latest ILWomen/IWLCA Division II poll. Among Regis' wins this season is a 14-12 win on March 19 at then No. 1 ranked University of Indianapolis. The Rangers have also defeated two other ranked teams this season – Lynn (15-11) and Grand Valley State (14-10).

As a team, Regis has scored 103 goals in seven games and are averaging 14.7 goals per game with senior midfielder Bailey Truex leading the way with 17 goals and five assists for 22 points. Truex's 17 goals are second-most in the RMAC. Graduate student midfielder Lucy Johnson and junior midfielder Lily Ferguson have each scored 14 goals on the year, while freshman midfielder Shea Murphy has tallied 12 goals. Five Rangers have scored 10 or more goals on the year.

Senior attacker Gabby Rothermund leads the way with 11 assists and has added six goals for 17 points on the year.

Ferguson, who was named this week's RMAC Defensive Player of the Week, and Truex have controlled the draw this season for the Pack as they have combined for 58 draws with Ferguson recording 31 and Truex collecting 27. Sophomore midfielder Becky Goetsch has picked up 21 ground balls this season to lead the Rangers. Overall, the Rangers have collected 138 ground balls with nine players having 10 or more on the year.

Defensively, the Rangers have caused 87 turnovers with sophomore midfielder Madeline Schallmoser leading the way with 11, while Ferguson has had 10.

In goal, the Rangers have played two goalies this season as sophomore Brigit Goetsch has played in all seven games and has logged 330 minutes and has allowed 49 goals and made 38 saves. Her 8.91 goals against average is tops in the RMAC, while her 43.7 save percentage is second-best in the RMAC. Junior Elizabeth Myotte has played in three games this season in goal and has allowed nine goals and made five saves.

The Rangers are coached by Sarah Kellner, who is in her 17th season as Regis' coach. Kellner has compiled a 180-70 record in her time at Regis and is 79-9 in RMAC games. She has coached the Rangers to six conference championships, three NCAA Tournament appearances and two NCAA national semifinal appearances. The Rangers have gone undefeated in league play in three straight seasons (the 2020 season was canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic) and is 31-2 overall over the past two seasons.  

Friday's game will be the 15th all-time between the two schools as Regis leads the all-time series, 14-0, including being 9-0 against the Pack in RMAC play. Regis won both meetings last season as they collected a 20-2 win at home on March 16, 2022 and then earned a 22-3 win in Pueblo on April 16, 2022.

ABOUT UCCS
UCCS comes into this weekend's action sporting a 1-6 overall record and an 0-1 mark in the RMAC after opening league play with a 15-7 loss at Regis on March 24. The Mountain Lions play at Fort Lewis on Friday, before traveling to Pueblo on Sunday. UCCS' only win this season has come against Lewis, which the Mountain Lions won 20-13 at home on March 10.

As a team, UCCS has scored 54 goals in seven games as are averaging eight goals per game with junior midfielder Julia Patrick leading the way with 16 goals and has added two assists for 18 points. Patrick's 16 goals are tied for fourth-most in the RMAC. In addition to Patrick, freshman attacker Brielle Fannin has also scored double-digit goals as she has had 10 goal and a team-leading seven assists for 17 points.

The Mountain Lions have taken 133 shots with Patrick leading the way with 31 shots, while Fannin and sophomore midfielder Erica Rivera have each taken 20 shots.

Patrick and Rivera have each collected 14 draw controls on the season, while redshirt junior goalkeeper Madison McGriff leads the league in ground balls with 33 and junior defender Kathryn Kossack has had 13 ground balls on the year.

Defensively, the Mountain Lions have caused 56 turnovers and have allowed 105 goals in seven games. Kossack leads the team with 13 caused turnovers.

In goal, McGriff has played all 405 minutes for UCCS and has allowed 105 goals and has made 85 saves. Her 85 saves and 44.7 save percentage are tops in the league, while her 15.56 goals allowed average is fifth in the league.

UCCS is coached by Melissa Rausch, who is her second season as the program's head coach and fourth overall season at UCCS. She has compiled a 12-13 overall record and is 8-5 in RMAC games with the Mountain Lions. Rausch came to UCCS from Nichols College in Dudley, Mass. She left the school as the second-winningest coach in the program's history.

Sunday's game will mark the eighth all-time meeting between the two schools as UCCS holds a slim 4-3 advantage in the series. The Pack have lost four straight games to the Mountain Lions as they swept last season by UCCS with the Mountain Lions winning 19-8 at home and at 21-8 in Pueblo.