It was a challenge not for the faint of heart, or for someone without a clear plan of action.
For Ann Elliott, a coach who arrived at Colorado with a meticulously detailed plan and the gumption to make certain it worked, bringing the CU Buffaloes women’s lacrosse program to life was the perfect fit.
As the Buffs enter the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament for the fourth time, they do so as one of the league’s favorites for the first time. In the five years and four seasons since being tasked with starting the CU program, Elliott has abruptly turned the Buffs into a legitimate top-10 program.
On Wednesday Elliott was rewarded for her efforts by landing the MPSF Coach of the Year honor, and CU’s opener in the league tournament on Friday marks the first step in a postseason journey that is expected to include CU’s first invitation to the NCAA Tournament.
“From my time at Northwestern, I thought building a program was something that was a really cool opportunity you don’t get a lot,” Elliott said. “That idea of being able to build something I always thought would be really neat if you had the opportunity to do it. I like Colorado. I like the Midwest and West better than anything else.”
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Buffaloes honored
A look at the Colorado Buffaloes who were named the the All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation teams:
| All-MPSF First Team | |||
| Player | Yr. | Position | High School |
| Sarah Brown | Jr. | Defender | Boulder |
| Darby Kiernan | Jr. | Attacker | Ridgewood (Ridgewood, N.J.) |
| Paige Soenksen | Sr. | Goalkeeper | La Costa Canyon (Encinitas, Calif.) |
| Miranda Stinson | So. | Midfield | Trinity Episcopal (Manakin Sabot, Va.) |
| All-MPSF Second Team | |||
| Player | Yr. | Position | High School |
| Carly Cox | Jr. | Attacker | Bay Shore (Bay Shore, N.Y.) |
| Johnna Fusco | Sr. | Attacker | Lassiter (Marietta, Ga.) |
| Kelsie Garrison | Jr. | Defender | Agoura (Westlake, Calif.) |
| Marie Moore | Sr. | Midfield | Brick Memorial (Brick, N.J.) |