Colorado Shocks No. 3 Simon Fraser
For Immediate Release—Colorado University Lacrosse
March 7, 2010
BOULDER, Colo.—Although the Olympics are over, Sunday night witnessed another meeting between the United States and Canada, only not so much ice. Colorado head coach Pete Stevenson earned his first regular season victory with CU as the Buffaloes upset third-ranked (MCLA The Lax Mag) Simon Fraser by a final score of 17-7.
“Winning is so hard to do at this level and to get that first one means a lot,” Stevenson commented after the game. “I am glad that this team responded tonight.”
Indeed, the team responded all night. AJ Blackburn led the Buffaloes’ triumph with six goals and two assists. Freshman Doug Lilburne followed closely behind with four tallies of his own and four assists. Darren Hulick also found the net twice as did Ryan Haines, Nick Kupcewicz, Ben Litwak, Tyler Snyder and Matt White. Offensively, CU pummeled the Simon Fraser defense with 45 shots, consistent pressure working around the net and capitalizing on gaps between the poles.
However, Stevenson would later add that his defense deserves the credit for the win. “As a unit they were practically unbeatable tonight. Will Brown played huge for us in the goal as well.”
Defensively, the Buffs constrained the Clansmen offense most of the game, only giving up 11 shots in the first half alone. Simon Fraser would go on to get 30 total shots in the contest, 16 of which came in the fourth quarter, when Colorado sat most of its starters.
Brown played the majority of the night between the pipes, stopping nine shots on goal and compiling a .692 save percentage before being relieved by Cody Novack and later Bradley Macnee. At the moment, Brown has 21 saves and averages 6.5 goals against with a .618 save percentage in two games as CU’s starting goalie.
With the win, Colorado improves to 1-1 and currently sits fifth in the RMLC division behind Utah (3-0), Utah State (3-0), Colorado State (4- 1) and BYU (3-2). The team will travel to Missouri next week to play back-to-back games against No. 17 Lindenwood and Miami (FL) March 12 and 13, respectively. Until then, the entire upcoming week of practice will be training to counter the Lions’ and Hurricanes’ tactics.
