Colorado lacrosse takes down Denver, reaches first NCAA quarterfinal

Colorado women's lacrosse continued their memorable season this weekend with two NCAA Tournament wins, earning their first quarterfinal appearance in program history. On Sunday in the second round, CU faced a familiar foe in the Denver Pioneers but edged out its southern rivals with an 11-9 victory. Rachel Kennedy led the Buffs, scoring three goals and adding an assist, leading all players with four points.

The win came on the heels of a 10-9 comeback win in the first round against Jacksonville. The NCAA Tournament now moves to Evanston, Illinois, giving the Buffs an undefeated home record in 2026. "We knew it was going to be a battle," head coach Ann Elliott Whidden said.

"A little bit of a tough start for us, but similar to Friday I'm just proud of our team for sticking with it, believing and just going one play at a time to get ourselves back in. I thought we played some really controlled poised lacrosse down the end, especially in the offensive end in our ability to execute. This is an awesome moment for us, just to be able to be going to the next round and back to Northwestern where we started the season.

" Colorado will head to Evanston to take on the host school, Northwestern, the No. 1 overall seed. As coach Whidden notes, the Buffaloes' season began in February against the then-No.