Denver women’s lacrosse advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament with a 16-9 win against Florida on May 8 before ultimately falling to No. 8 Colorado in a narrow 11-9 loss on May 10. Both games were held in Boulder. 

Friday’s game saw favored Florida take a strong 4-1 lead after the first quarter, with Denver’s only goal coming early from junior attacker Olivia Ripple. 

After regrouping before the second quarter, Denver started to fight back. Just over twelve minutes into the period, a goal from sophomore attacker Eva-Thomsen Marr tied the game at 4-4. 

From there, the two sides went back and forth through halftime and into the third. Going into the fourth quarter, Denver had scraped out a 10-7 lead. 

Then the Crimson and Gold took off. Redshirt sophomore attacker Caroline Keil and Florida’s Clark Hamilton exchanged goals before Denver netted five unanswered scores to close out the game 16-8. 

Keil finished the game with five goals, while Ripple was close behind with four. 

Sophomore goalkeeper Lexi Gwuaku made 10 saves and played the entire 60 minutes. 

This win gave Denver plenty of confidence heading into its game against Colorado, where it hoped to pull off another upset on the Buffaloes’ home turf. 

Through the first quarter, Denver’s momentum showed as they took a 4-2 lead. Then in the second, they let it slip as Colorado scored five to go up 7-5 at halftime. 

In the second half, both teams scored four goals each and Denver could not find the separation to overcome the deficit. Colorado won the game 11-9. 

Ripple led Denver in scoring with three, further cementing herself as one of the bigger names in Denver lacrosse. She was named to the All-American third team before the tournament, while also winning Big East Attacker of the Year. While Gwauku was given an All-American honorable mention. 

With a strong team around these stars, Denver looks to bounce back next year for yet another Big East title and a deep run in the NCAA tournament.