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2020/21 Lacrosse off-season news and general discussion thread (Team ranked #24 in preseason coaches' poll; 1st game 2/18)

AztecBuff

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The season has ended much sooner than the team (and we) would like (obviously for reasons much larger than sports), so figured it's time to start this thread for any off-season and, eventually, fall (for this sport) scrimmage and training period news.

Anyways, it was looking like the 2020 season was going to be an entertaining one, and the team (which ended up 3-2 overall and 1-0 in conference play) has ended up #25 in the final coaches' (IWLCA) poll. Also from the poll (which can be see in full in the artlicle linked to below), the Buffs only 2 losses were to teams (Florida and Michigan) that ended up #8 and 12 in the country.



"
BOULDER — The Colorado lacrosse team finished the 2020 season with a 3-2 record, which was good for 25th in the final Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association Division I Poll.

The Buffaloes also had a 1-0 mark in Pac-12 Conference play after defeating Oregon 21-5 on March 6.

North Carolina and Notre Dame both finished the season with a 7-0 record, but UNC picked up all 25 first-place votes for the top spot, which the Tar Heels have held for five straight weeks. The Irish are second while Loyola (5-0) stayed at third. Syracuse finished the season fourth with a 7-1 mark, while Stony Brook (4-1) rounds out the top five.

The Pac-12 Conference finishes the season with three teams in the top 25. Southern California (6-0) has the highest ranking at seventh, while Stanford (3-4) is just in front of the Buffs at 23rd.

The Buffs have been ranked in every IWLCA Poll since February 20, 2017, and since that time, they have recorded a 41-20 record. That same season, CU advanced to its first NCAA Tournament after recording its first wins against ranked teams, including No. 9 Northwestern in the season opener (Feb. 12). The Buffs made the NCAA Tournament again in 2018 and 19, both times moving on to the second round.
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"
 
Assume there will be more I'll add later, but wanted to note now the last few days the team has started to tweet "thank yous" to some of its seniors, which I guess (???) means they are moving on after hopefully graduating this semester. (With the NCAA only authorizing 12 (equivalent) scholarships for a team that had 35 players on the roster this season, assume "getting on with their lives" once they can graduate is even more of a common sense move as compared to the more fully supported sports (football, both basketballs and volleyball at CU).)

Wish ALL the seniors nothing but the best going forward, and thanks for all the entertainment they gave me and other Buff Lax fans over the years!






(Note- I do hope at least some of the 8 seniors are able and willing to come back next season.)
 
The team completed its senior "thank you's".

I of course add my THANKS to all the seniors for giving me (and many Buff fans) great entertainment, and hope their CU experience has been positive and helps give them a nice foundation the rest of their lives!





Note - one piece of possible good news from this. The one senior NOT included in these thank you's was All-American goalie Julia Lisella (who was voted the Coaches' Ass'n. 2018 NATIONAL goalie of the year). Does this mean she may be planning on coming back???
 
Confirmation that a couple seniors, All-American goalie Julia Lisella and starting defender Anna Collawn, are coming back next year.

Great news for the team!



Direct link to article - https://cubuffs.com/news/2020/5/12/lacrosse-collawn-and-lisella-coming-back-for-2021-season.aspx

"
BOULDER — After losing the 2020 NCAA women's lacrosse season to Covid-19, many spring sport seniors were given the opportunity to come back for another campaign. Two of CU's eight lacrosse seniors, Anna Collawn and Julia Lisella, have decided to take the NCAA and the University of Colorado up on the offer and will be back in uniform for the 2021 season.

"This process has been hard for our entire senior class and we are so proud of each and every one of them," head coach Ann Elliott Whidden said. "While no one dreams of their senior year being cut short, each of them has had a huge impact on our program that will never be forgotten. We are excited that Julia and Anna have decided to return for their extra year of eligibility. Both have been tremendous leaders for us on and off the field. We expect them to have a continued impact for us on the defensive end and are excited to be returning an even more veteran defensive unit in 2020-2021."
...

Both have also seen success in the classroom as the duo were both named to the 2018 and '19 Pac-12 All-Academic honorable mention teams. Collawn is a psychology major and will change her communication minor to a major with the extra semesters, while Lisella is able to add a business minor to her speech, language and hearing sciences major. She also has an education minor.
"
 
OFFICIAL welcome and congrats to the 10 incoming lacrosse Buffs!



Direct link to the full announcement with more on each freshman - https://cubuffs.com/news/2020/6/3/lacrosse-announces-2021-freshmen.aspx

"
BOULDER — Colorado lacrosse head coach Ann Elliott Whidden has announced the addition of 10 freshman to the roster for the 2021 season. Six members of the class are from the East Coast, while a pair hail from the Midwest. The other two athletes are from California and Texas.

NamePos.Ht.Hometown (High School/Club)
Danielle HeintzG5-6Brewster, N.Y. (Brewster/Cobra Kai)
Jordan JohnsonM5-5Rumson, N.J. (Rumson Fair Haven Regional/T3 Shore Elite)
Zoe McElhaneyM5-3Frisco, Texas (Wakeland/GRIT)
Mack MooreA5-5Fort Washington, Pa. (Upper Dublin/Ultimate Goal Lacrosse)
Maddi OtaM5-4Blue Bell, Pa. (Germantown Academy/Big 4 HHH)
Morgan PenceM5-7Great Falls, Va. (Georgetown Visitation Prep/Capital Lacrosse)
Madeline PisaniM5-5Clarendon Hills, Ill. (Hinsdale Central/Summit Lacrosse)
Taylor SmithM5-7Basking Ridge, N.J. (Basking Ridge/STEPS Lacrosse)
Ashley StokesM5-7Santa Ana, Calif. (Foothill/OC ACES
Sydney ZimmermanM5-6Rockford, Mich. (Rockford/Summit Elite)

Complete bios for student-athletes are below:
...
"
__________________________________________________________________________________________________

Note- none of these 2020/21 frosh are "surprises" to this thread. Below is a list that shows which post #'s in this thread these new Buffs commitments were noted/ discussed:

2020-21 season lacrosse class_post #s_2020-06-03.png

Note - for trivia "Buffs", looks like this may be the last lacrosse class that has members who committed early in their high school years before lacrosse (and I believe softball), with NCAA approval, became the 1st sports (back in April 2017) that changed their recruiting rules so that 1st contact with a prospective student-athlete can't occur before September 1st of their junior year. (Of this 2020/21 group of freshman, looks like Maddi Ota was the 1st commit (at least known to this thread) back in October 2016, which I believe was early in her freshman year.) Also wanted to note that all the other Buff Olympic sports did not have their rules changed until May 1st, 2019.
 
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Hope we get a season in!



"
BOULDER – While it is not yet clear exactly what the 2021 lacrosse season will look like, one thing is certain: Colorado's women's team will be one of the top teams in the nation. The Buffs are ranked No. 22 in US Lacrosse Magazine's early top-25 poll, released this week.

CU was 3-2 in 2020 before the pandemic cut the season short. The Buffs' two losses came on the road to teams that finished the year ranked in the top 12, and they wrapped up the season with back-to-back convincing wins, topping Oregon 21-5 and Coastal Carolina 19-8 in Boulder in early March.

Ten of the team's 12 starters are returning in 2021, including the team's top five scorers and All-American goalie Julia Lisella. The senior from Littleton opted to return for a sixth season when given an extra year of eligibility due to the pandemic. She was named first-team All-America as a redshirt sophomore in 2018 when she had a .503 save percentage and 9.34 goals against average. She has continued to build off that success the past two years with a .473 save percentage since her All-American campaign.
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"
 
Looks like the team is starting its off-season training period. Hope they have productive, safe and injury-free times!

 
Just bumping this thread, as I expect the lax Buffs to be releasing their schedule soon.

Usually Pac 12 teams, at least in other sports I've followed, seem to release their schedules pretty closely together, and I noticed Cal (https://calbears.com/news/2021/1/29/lacrosse-cal-opens-season-february-26-against-uc-davis.aspx) issued a release with its schedule yesterday. In the Pac 12 combined schedule (https://pac-12.com/womens-lacrosse/schedule), it looks like USC also has a schedule, although their website doesn't reflected it yet. (maybe its not complete?).

A couple notes from those teams' schedules:
  • It looks like Pac 12 lacrosse is still looking at having home and home series between the schools. (They're not doing like volleyball is and having both games/ matches between conference opponents at one school OR the other this season.)
  • From the 2 schedules released, looks like the Buffs are scheduled to host the Bears on March 22nd and Trojans on April 2nd, and will be visiting USC March 26th and Cal April 11th.
  • The Pac 12 Tournament is scheduled for May 5th-8th, with Stanford (hopefully) hosting.
  • It looks like it's a pretty standard # of total regular season games- IF I'm counting right, it looks like USC has 6 and Cal 7 non-conference games scheduled, to go along with the 10 Pac 12 contests. Cal has ALL it's non-conference games in-state, and are scheduled to have a 3 game series with UC-Davis, and home and home series with Fresno State and SDSU. USC, which like the Buffs always has NCAA tournament aspirations, does have one weekend trip to face off against two New England schools (including 2019 season NCAA Championship runner-up BC), and then are facing, once only in their case, the same California schools I noted for Cal.
  • As to the possible start to the season, it may or may not be coming pretty quickly. USC's 1st scheduled game is on Feb. 13th, while Cal isn't scheduled to start until February 26th. (I also checked out Boston College's schedule, and their 1st match is scheduled for Feb. 17th.)
 
Schedule now released. 1st game is slated for Feb. 18th, and conference play is scheduled to start March 12th.

Go Buffs!!!



Link to article - https://cubuffs.com/news/2021/2/3/2021-colorado-lacrosse-schedule-announced.aspx

"
BOULDER — After playing just five games during the 2020 season, the Colorado lacrosse team is more than ready to get the 2021 season going.

The schedule, which was released Wednesday, has the Buffaloes playing 15 regular-season contests, seven at home and eight on the road. Ten of those games will be against Pac-12 Conference opponents, as CU will play each of the five other conference schools twice, but the Buffs will also play five non-conference games.
...

All dates and times are subject to change. Pac-12 Network TV games and other streams will be announced at a later date.

2021 Colorado Lacrosse Schedule

DateOpponent (Rank)LocationTime (MT)TV/Stream
Thursday, Feb. 18at LouisvilleLouisville, Ky.1 p.m.TBA
Sunday, Feb. 21at VanderbiltNashville, Tenn.10 a.m.TBA
Saturday, Feb. 27DENVER (11)BOULDER1 p.m.P12P
Friday, March 12*OREGONBOULDER3 p.m.P12P
Sunday, March 14SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITYBOULDER10 a.m.P12P
Saturday, March 20*STANFORD (23)BOULDER1 p.m.P12P
Sunday, March 22*CALIFORNIABOULDER2 p.m.P12P
Friday, March 26*at Southern California (13)Los Angeles5 p.m.TBA
Sunday, March 28*at Arizona StateTempe, Ariz.2 p.m.TBA
Friday, April 2*SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA (13)BOULDER1 p.m.P12P
Sunday, April 4*ARIZONA STATEBOULDER1 p.m.P12P
Friday, April 9*at Stanford (23)Stanford, Calif.TBDTBA
Sunday, April 11*at CaliforniaBerkeley, Calif.1 p.m.TBA
Friday, April 23*at OregonEugene, Ore.TBDTBA
Thursday, April 29at Denver (11)Denver, Colo.1 p.m.TBA
PAC-12 TOURNAMENT
Wednesday, May 5Pac-12 QuarterfinalsPalo Alto, Calif.TBDTBA
Thursday, May 6Pac-12 SemifinalsPalo Alto, Calif.TBDTBA
Saturday, May 8Pac-12 FinalsPalo Alto, Calif.TBDTBA
NCAA TOURNAMENT
May 5-8NCAA First & Second RoundsTBATBATBA
May 14-16NCAA QuarterfinalsTBATBATBA
May 28NCAA SemifinalsTBATBATBA
May 30NCAA FinalsTBATBATBA

(All rankings used in this release were from the 2021 IWLCA Preseason Poll.)

All Home Games in BOLD CAPS
All Times Mountain
*- Pac-12 Conference game
P12N - Game will be televised live on Pac-12 Networks
P12P - Game will be streamed live on Pac-12 Plus
"
 
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Wanted to mention a couple articles came out the last few days (maybe the last time this thread gets used before the individual game threads begin when the season hopefully starts this Thursday.?.)-

1) Pac 12 coaches' pre-season poll-


Direct link to article - https://cubuffs.com/news/2021/2/11/...r-first-in-pac-12-preseason-coaches-poll.aspx

2) Season preview -


Direct link - https://cubuffs.com/news/2021/2/12/lacrosse-resilient-buffaloes-ready-to-start-2021-season.aspx

"
BOULDER – Overcoming challenges and adversity is nothing new to the University of Colorado lacrosse team, although the obstacles of the last year are nothing like anyone has ever seen before.

A couple of things have remained constant for the Buffaloes, lacrosse and their desire to play. During the last year, they have worked through many different rules and regulations that have prevented them from being on the field together and off the field. But like all of the past challenges and adversity the Buffs have faced, it has helped them come together and now they are ready to start the 2021 season.

"They have learned a lot through the experience and have grown a lot in terms of individuals and as a team in terms of who we are and what we want to do and what it takes to do that, this year in particular," head coach Ann Elliott Whidden said. "This January and now into February has been a great start for us to be together. They are excited that just around the corner we finally have a game after it almost being a year and it's been almost two years without a championship."

The last time CU was on the field was March 8, 2020, against Coastal Carolina, a 19-8 victory for the Buffaloes in Boulder. But it has been even longer since they have played in a Pac-12 Tournament game (April 28, 2019, vs. Southern California) or an NCAA Tournament game (May 12, 2019, vs. Boston College).

But while they are excited to play, they also know they need to focus on things they can control, because there is a lot they cannot.

"They are really eager to play and have that opportunity," Whidden said. "That is our main focus, just doing everything we can off the field to make sure we can be on the field together; and take advantage of every opportunity we have."

While things could look very different this season, Colorado is starting the season in a very similar position – on the road. This marks the sixth year the Buffaloes will open their campaign away from Boulder. They will start against the University of Louisville in Louisville, Kentucky, on Thursday, Feb. 18, before heading to Nashville, Tennessee, to take on Vanderbilt. It will be the first meeting for CU against both programs.
...

"Our players worked hard during this last year given all of the challenges they have had," Whidden said. "They've committed to things and we're excited about where they are at. Obviously this is a team sport and we have to continue to work on playing as a team and what that looks like for us.

"This is a team that starts off with hard teams and then we grow and we grow and we grow. And last season we were just about to the point where we were going to grow and you were going to see that growth and our season got cut at that point. As we turn to this non-conference portion of our season, we have new pieces in there, but I think we are excited for them and were going to see a lot of growth for this team the more they are together."

While Whidden returned a lot of talent from the 2020 team, she added 10 freshmen who joined the Buffaloes in August. They have faced their share of challenges, but Whidden is really proud of their perseverance, commitment and focus on the field.

"This is a group that wants to play and wants to get better," she said. "They want to make an impact on this team. It's a great group and we are definitely going to have some people play and make an impact, starting on February 18, and I think we're going to have some people make an impact as they continue to gain experience this year in our practices. We're really excited about what they bring to this team in all positions across the board; this really is a great group. By the time they are seniors, they are going to be a really strong group and be great leaders."

No matter how different this year looks and no matter how many curve balls the CU lacrosse team is thrown, one thing is certain. This is a group that can, and will, overcome any challenges it faces.
"
 
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