PUEBLO, Colo. – Colorado State University Pueblo women's lacrosse continued its three-game homestand to close the 2024 season here Friday afternoon as the ThunderWolves suffered a heartbreaking 16-15 setback to UCCS in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play on Senior Day at Art and Lorraine Gonzales Soccer and Lacrosse Stadium.
 
Prior to Friday's game, the Pack honored its six seniors in a pregame ceremony and the six seniors recognized were midfielder Baylee Mee (Reno, Nev./Galena), defender Maddie Miller (Colorado Springs, Colo./Pine Creek), midfielder Caira Lessick (Oregon City, Ore./Oregon City), attacker Sedona Sargent (Bellingham, Wash./Sehome), defender Paige Scarbrough (El Cajon, Calif./Helix Charter) and defender Samantha Schmidt (Littleton, Colo./Dakota Ridge).
 
With Friday's setback, the Pack fall to 2-11 overall and 0-9 in the RMAC, while UCCS improved to 6-8 overall and 4-5 in the league.
 
The Pack will close out the 2024 season on Sunday, April 28 with a 12 p.m. game against seventh-ranked Regis University.
 
In Friday's game, the Pack jumped out to a 6-3 lead after the first period and outscored the Mountain Lions 6-2 in the second period to hold a 12-5 halftime lead.
 
The Mountain Lions, though, rallied in the second half as they outscored the Pack, 11-3, to post the come-from-behind win, including scored six of those goals in the fourth period to turn a 14-10 deficit after three periods into a one-point win. The Pack had a chance to tie the game, but a shot by Mee right before the final buzzer was saved by UCCS goalie Madison McGriff.
 
UCCS outshot the Pack, 40-33, but the Pack recorded a school record 42 ground balls as they held a 42-30 edge in ground balls, including a six each from freshman goalie Breonna Mason (Colorado Springs, Colo./Air Academy) and Sargent, while Mee and sophomore attacker Elise Magee (Port Moody, British Columbia/Dr. Charles Best Secondary) added five each. Six Pack players had at least four ground balls in the game.
 
Mee paced the Pack offense with five goals and added an assist for six points, while Magee had four goals. Sargent and Lessick each tallied three goals and had an assist. Junior attacker Annabelle Hollandbeck (Brownsburg, Ind./Brownsburg) led the Pack with a career-high three assists.
 
With her four goals, Magee pushed her season total to 26, while Lessick pushed her career total to 95, which is fourth-most on the school's all-time chart and Mee pushed her career total to 68 goals, which is seventh on the school's all-time chart. Lessick is now one of four players in program history to score 95 or more career goals.
Mee got the scoring started on a goal assisted by Sargent just a little less than two minutes into the game. About 44 seconds later, Emma Grace Martin put the Mountain Lions on the scoreboard with an unassisted goal.
 
The Pack retook the lead on a second goal by Mee that was assisted by Lessick with 8:10 left in the period, before UCCS scored two straight goals to take a 3-2 lead with 6:21 left in the opening period.
 
Following that two-goal flurry by the Mountain Lions, the Pack closed the first period with four consecutive goals, including two unassisted goals by Mee and goals by Sargent and Lessick. The latter goal was assisted by Hollandbeck and gave the Pack a 6-3 lead after 15 minutes of play.
 
After UCCS opened the second period with a goal by Martin, the Pack would score six of the final seven goals of the period to take a 12-5 halftime lead. The first Pack goal came off a free position shot by Mee, while Lessick scored the second goal off an assist by Mee and after Julia Patrick scored for UCCS, the Pack used two goals each from Sargent and Magee to close the second period.
 
Lessick gave the Pack a 13-5 lead on her goal that was assisted by Hollandbeck just two-plus minutes in the third period, but UCCS would score five of the next six goals in the period to cut the Pack's lead to 14-10 heading into the final period. The Pack's other goal in the period came from Magee on a free position shot with 7:50 left.
 
The Mountain Lions opened the fourth period with back-to-back goals by Allie Schell to drop the Pack's lead to 14-12 just three-plus minutes into the period. The Pack, though, answered that goal with a free position shot by Magee with 11:43 left to give the Pack a 15-12 lead.
 
UCCS would then answer back with three straight goals to tie the game at 15-all with 2:55 left in the game. The Mountain Lions would retake the lead on an unassisted goal by Schell with 27 seconds left in the game.
 
On the ensuing draw, which was won by Mee, the Pack pushed the ball into the goal area, but a shot from right in front of the goal by Mee with one second left sealed UCCS' victory.
 
The Pack finished with 15 draw controls as Magee (7) and Mee (5) combined for 12, while Sarah Urbanic had six to lead the Mountain Lions.
 
Magee led the Pack with 11 shots, including seven shots on goal, while Sargent took nine shots and put eight of them on goal.
 
The Pack were credited with six caused turnovers and were 19-for-23 on clears. UCCS caused 13 turnovers and was 15-for-17 on clears.
 
Mason played all 60 minutes in goal and finished 13 save to go along with her six ground balls. Her 13 saves pushed her season total 145, which third-most on the school's single season chart and she is now just nine shy of tying the school's single season school mark of 154 set by Ane Marie Horton in 2018.
 
UCCS was paced offensively by four goals by Urbanic, while Patrick and Schell each had three goals in the win.
 
McGriff (6-8) played nearly 52 minutes in goal for the Mountain Lions as she allowed 12 goals, recorded 10 saves, tallied two ground balls and a caused turnover. Jordyn Nunez played eight-plus minutes and allowed three goals and made two saves and had a ground ball.