Chippewa Valley Times

The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire women's lacrosse team faced a challenging start to their Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) season, falling to 17th-ranked Colorado College with a score of 15-5. The game took place on Sunday at the Sonnentag Fieldhouse.

Colorado College, who are the defending WIAC champions, made an early impact by scoring nine goals in the first quarter and maintaining control throughout the match. "After falling behind 4-0 in the first five minutes of the game," Paige Kiani managed to get UW-Eau Claire on the scoreboard with a goal at the 9:55 mark. However, Colorado College responded strongly with five more goals before the end of the first quarter.

The Blugolds attempted to contain their opponents by holding them to three goals in the second quarter but were unable to score themselves, leading to a halftime score of 12-1 in favor of Colorado College.

In the third quarter, UW-Eau Claire showed some resilience when Devon Crews and Victoria Shea scored back-to-back goals, narrowing the deficit. Despite these efforts, Colorado College extended their lead again by entering the fourth quarter with a 13-3 advantage.

Ellie Fisher and Crews contributed further for UW-Eau Claire in the final quarter with Reegan Werner assisting both goals. Goalkeeper Alexandria Shea recorded 16 saves for UW-Eau Claire, marking it as one of her highest performances historically within the program.

Samantha Burns and Gabi Bullert also played significant roles defensively; Bullert tied a program record by causing five turnovers during this game.

Looking ahead, UW-Eau Claire is scheduled for an away series from March 19-22, starting with McDaniel College in Westminster, Maryland. Fans can keep up with all matches via Blugolds.com or through social media channels including Twitter and Instagram.