Colorado College advanced to the championship game of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference women’s lacrosse tournament with a dominating 22–1 victory over Johnson & Wales University on Saturday, April 27 at Washburn Field.
In the semifinal game, CC collected goals from 17 different players, including a pair from attackers Eva King ’20, Bella Beattie ’22, and Allie Thuet ’20, midfielder Avery Bell ’21, and defender Avery Newton ’22.
Attacker Maggie O’Donnell ’22 scored once and tied her season high of five assists, while King dished out three assists to complete her five-point day.
King improved her season point-total to 86, which ranks fifth in CC history.
With her team leading six points, all of which occurred during the opening 16 minutes of the game, O’Donnell increased her season total to 71 and climbed seven spots on the program’s single-season chart to No. 11.
Defender Abigail Turner ’22 scored her first career goal on a free-position shot with nine minutes remaining in the game.
As a team, the Tigers reached the 20-goal mark for the fourth time this season and increased their scoring average to 17 goals per game. It also marked the fourth time this season CC held an opponent to fewer than five goals in a contest.
The following day, the Tigers battled Southwestern University for the SCAC Championship Title.
Colorado College lived up to its No. 19 national ranking with an 18–1 victory over Southwestern University in the championship game of the SCAC tournament on Sunday afternoon at Washburn Field.
Thuet led the Tigers with three goals and three assists, while Beattie finished with three goals and one assist.
King, who finished the game with two goals and three assists, was named the championship’s offensive MVP after producing 10 points for the weekend.
“I am so proud of my team,” King said. “I am so grateful to have such a supportive group of girls motivating me and pushing me to be the best athlete I can be.”
King finished the season with 91 points, which set a conference record for points in a single season. With her first score just two minutes into the game, King became the eighth player in CC women’s lacrosse history to reach the 200-point mark.
Midfielder Lauren Pejza ’20 earned the defensive MVP honor for recording eight draw controls and a pair of ground balls against the Pirates. She also struck for CC’s second goal, which proved to be the game winner, just 35 seconds into the contest.
O’Donnell finished the game with two goals and a pair of assists, running her cumulative point total to 75, which ranks eighth on CC’s single-season list.
While the offense grabbed the headlines, the Tigers’ defense was every bit as impressive because the team did not allow a Southwestern goal for more than 55 minutes. Southwestern entered the game averaging 17.45 goals per game.
Goaltender Alena Stern ’21 stopped all five shots she faced during about 43 minutes of action. She lowered her season goals-against average to 8.39 and improved her saves percentage to .529.
“This season has been awesome,” Stern said. “The reason I’m able to stop goals is because our great midfielders record turnovers and make sure the ball stays far away from my goal, on the other side of the field.”
Colorado College, which ended the regular season with a 17–1 record, will learn their position in the 2019 NCAA Division III Women’s Lacrosse Championship bracket on May 9.