It’s fair to assume a certain level of frustration had been built up within the Stanford women’s lacrosse team toward its counterparts at the University of Colorado.
The Cardinal vented those frustrations in a big way Sunday at Prentup Field. Despite a pair of narrow, could’ve-gone-either-way losses against the Buffaloes during the regular season, Stanford dominated the inaugural Pac-12 Conference championship game, denying CU’s bid to sweep the league’s regular-season and tournament crowns with a 15-6 victory.
The Buffs never led and were held to a season-low goal total by a swarming defensive performance from the Cardinal, an effort led by goalie Allie DaCar. Though CU typically plays its home games at Kittredge Field, the result nonetheless ended a 19-game home winning streak for the Buffs, dating back to a loss against USC on April 8, 2016.
It was the second consecutive loss in a league title game for the Buffs, who also lost to USC last year in their final game in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.
“We know how good they are. We know they’re a really good team that’s playing really well and can beat you in many different ways,” CU coach Ann Elliott said. “They stepped up, and we didn’t.”