Buffs Open MPSF Slate Against UC Davis Sunday

BOULDER — Colorado, which is 3-0 for the first time in program history, will host the UC Davis Aggies (1-1) on Sunday, Feb. 26, to start up Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) play. Opening draw is set for 12 p.m. at Kittredge Field.

HOW TO WATCH: Colorado's game against UC Davis Sunday will be streamed live on Pac-12 Plus (a link is available on the schedule page at CUBuffs.com). Live stats will be available at http://www.sidearmstats.com/cu/wlax/.

ABOUT THE BUFFS: Colorado started the season with a thrilling 11-10 overtime upset of No. 9 Northwestern and kept the ball rolling with wins against No. 16 UMass (11-7) and Stetson (22-3). CU is ranked in all three polls this week. The Buffs are 13th in the IWLCA Coaches Poll, ninth in the Cascade/Inside Lacrosse Poll and 11th in the NIKE/US Lacrosse poll. This is the first time in school history CU is ranked in all three polls.

Junior Darby Kiernan leads the Buffs in goals and points. She has seven goals and three assists for 10 points this season. Kiernan was honored as the NCAA Women's Lacrosse Player of the Week and the MPSF Offensive Player of the Week after recording four goals and an assist against UMass and another goal and two assists versus Stetson. Kiernan also set an MPSF record against Stetson with 19 draw controls, which tied the fifth most in NCAA history. Kiernan also has a team best 25 draw controls this season and leads the MPSF with 8.33 per game, which is also fifth in the NCAA.

Senior Johnna Fusco is second for the Buffs with six goals and eight points and junior Kelsie Garrison leads the team with seven ground balls this season. CU has 17 caused turnovers this season. Junior Sarah Brown has tallied four, while Garrison is second with three. Senior Paige Soenksen has three wins this season in goal. She has allowed 7.19 goals per game, which is second in the MPSF. Soenksen also has an impressive .609 save percentage on 66 shots faced.

ABOUT UC DAVIS: UC Davis is 1-1 to start the season. The Aggies dropped a 20-10 decision to Stanford to start the season and rebounded to defeat LIU-Brooklyn 19-7. The Aggies will face Denver on Friday prior to visiting the Buffs in Boulder.

Melissa Kellan is the team leader in goals and points with nine and 12, respectively. Taylor Cuenin is second on the team with 10 points, five goals and five assists. Shannon Geary and Cuenin lead the Aggies in draw controls. Geary has recorded 12 this season, while Cuenin has 10. Cuenin also has a team-high eight ground balls and six caused turnovers. In net, Lauren Ali is allowing 12.41 goals per game and has a .375 save percentage in 35 shots faced. As a team, UCD ranks fifth in the NCAA in assists per game (9.00).

THE SERIES: Colorado leads the all-time series against UCD 3-0; this will be the second time the two teams have met in Boulder. In the last meeting in 2016, CU defeated the Aggies 14-3. The Buffs average 13.66 goals per game against UCD and have held the Aggies to 4.33 goals per game in the series history.

HOME GAME INFORMATION: All of Colorado's home games will be played at Kittredge Field. Admission is free, as is parking in Lot 416.

PROMOTIONS: The first 150 fans will receive a free t-shirt and students will get a free Half-Fast sub while supplies last. There will also be a free postgame youth clinic following the game. The clinic is open to kids 12 and under. Fans are asked to RSVP at www.cubuffs.com/sb_output.aspx?form=49.

UP NEXT: The Buffs will play five of their next six games at home. Colorado will host Denver and Marquette, March 3 and 5, respectively, before heading east to face Penn State.

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Players Mentioned

Sarah Brown

Johnna Fusco

Kelsie Garrison

Darby Kiernan

Paige Soenksen