No. 20 CU puts pedal down in a rout of Kent State

Career-high seven goals from Stokes paces Buffs’ attack

The Colorado women’s lacrosse team will take a dose of highscoring momentum into its biggest game of the season.

The 20th-ranked Buffaloes continued a scoring spree on Sunday, topping Kent State 20-5 in the final nonconference contest of the season at Kittredge Field. The Buffs matched a season-high scoring total they reached during a Pac-12 win against Arizona State on Friday, and the result gives CU wins in five of six games heading into a Sunday road match against No. 19 USC.

CU (10-4, 4-1 Pac-12) and the Trojans are tied for second in the Pac-12, and the winner next week will have the inside track toward a top-two finish in the league, which comes with a firstround bye at the conference tournament.

Two days after tying the CU program record with seven assists in the win against ASU, Ashley Stokes led the way for the Buffs’ attack with a career-high seven goals against Kent State, while also adding four more assists. Stokes’ 11 points were the most by a CU player since Darby Kiernan recorded 12 against Jacksonville State in 2018. Stokes has recorded 13 goals and 13 assists in the past three games.

Stokes was one of 12 players to notch goals for the Buffs, who outshot Kent State 48-8 overall with a 41-7 edge in shots on goal. The Buffs’ 48 shots were the second-most in program history. CU scored the game’s first four goals, building a 6-2 lead at the end of the first quarter and an 11-4 lead at halftime.

While head coach Ann Elliott Whidden was able to substitute liberally in the second half, CU leading scorer Madeline Pisani still finished with one goal to keep intact her streak of scoring at least one goal in every game this season. Camryn Stoner and Jaimey Hill both recorded their first career goals.

Kent State’s five goals was a season-low for a CU opponent, and Jess Peluso helped lead the defensive effort with five forced turnovers. Peluso has caused 34 turnovers this year, tying the CU season record set by Sarah Brown in 2018.

Sunday’s victory marked the final game this season at Kittredge, as CU will play its final home game — and regular season finale — on April 26 under the lights at Prentup Field.