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#1 Colorado State Wins Rocky Mountain Showdown 12-9 against #6 Colorado
Denver, CO
By Garrett Fitzgerald
April 16, 2005
In the second annual Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Showdown the #1 Colorado State Rams beat bitter RMLC rival #6 Colorado Buffalos in a well-played lacrosse game for the second consecutive year. In front of more than 2,000 people at Shea Stadium in Highlands Ranch, CO, the Buffs went up 2-0 early, but Colorado State answered with a four goal run spanning from late in the first quarter to early in the second to give CSU a lead they would never relinquish en route to a 12-9 victory. The win gives the Rams the regular season RMLC title and the #1 seed heading into the conference tournament in two weeks.
Colorado's Jason Anderson and Andrew Upah scored the first two goals of the game early on as the Rams struggled to find a meaningful possession. Anderson played perhaps his best game of the year, making several spectacular plays with defenders draped all over him. He finished with two goals, but was a force on offense for the Buffs all night long.
Finally, with only :13 left in the first quarter, Nick Stanitz-Harper (Eaglecrest HS, CO) bulled his way to the goal to get the first of his two goals on the day. Then, just a little over :30 into the second frame, sophomore middie Pat Bird (Bishop O'Dowd HS, CA) blasted home a shot to tie the game. The physical midfielder from California scored again a minute later to give the Rams the lead. Bird was dominant for most of the game, scoring a game high four goals and garnering Offensive MVP honors for the Rams. He had missed the previous four weeks with an injury prior to the Colorado game, making this performance all the more impressive. CSU finished the half with a 7-6 lead.
The rest of the game was well fought on both sides of the ball as the teams traded goals until the fourth quarter. Whenever it seemed the Rams were about to run away with the game, Colorado countered and stayed right in it until the end. For Colorado, Andrew Upah and Brian Morgan had enormous impacts on offense, each scored three goals including Upah's goal with 0:45 left in the third quarter to bring the score to 9-8.
But Pat Bird was not done yet as he was able to snatch a Colorado clearing pass and stuff it into the open net for his 26th goal of the season with 10:01 remaining in the fourth. The goal was undoubtedly a momentum changer as CU was headed for a sure fast break and chance to tie the game at 9. The second year Ram reached up and took it away from Colorado goaltender Neema Kasaii for what proved to be a two goal swing to make it 10-8.
At 10-8 midway through the fourth quarter, CSU iced the game with consecutive behind the back goals from junior midfielder Michael Murphy (Lake Oswego HS, OR) and sophomore Brian Stone (Air Academy HS, CO). Murphy's goal was a remarkable effort that saw him fling the ball through two Buffalo defenders with one hand into the net. Shortly thereafter, Stone found himself all alone on the crease and tucked it behind his head off a feed from freshman attackman Shay Cunningham (Algonquin HS, MA). The two goals were within :30 of each other and put the game out of reach for the Buffalos.
Colorado's Tyler Wood had excellent success facing off, winning 16 out of 24 draws. Wood was instrumental in giving the Buffs key possessions throughout the first half. CSU won nearly half the draws in the second half, but Wood's performance was noteworthy. Facing off was not the only area of the game where the Buffs found success as they won nearly every other statistical category on the night. CU had 45 groundballs to only 32 for CSU and outshot the Rams 46-41.
Colorado State's junior goaltender Pete Jokisch (Rockhurst Jesuit, MO) had another remarkable effort, finishing with 15 saves, several of which were right on the doorstep to bail out his team. Jokisch was stellar all night and awarded with the Defensive MVP for his efforts. Colorado goaltender Neema Kasaii finished with 8 saves, five of which came in the final quarter.
Defensively the University of Colorado was able to contain Colorado State's man-up offense rather well. The Buffs defense only allowed one man down goal on seven Ram chances while CSU gave up three goals on five CU opportunities. Individually, CSU captain Kellin Bershinsky (Poudre HS, CO) led the Ram long sticks and caused two turnovers while scooping up three groundballs.
With Colorado State's victory they finish the season with a 14-0 record #1 seed heading into the RMLC tournament. The conference championships will be held in Greeley, Colorado on the campus of the University of Northern Colorado. CSU will face #14 University of Utah in their first postseason game on April, 28th while Colorado will likely play Brigham Young in the other semifinal.
Notes:
- In the past six games between theses two teams neither squad won by more than two goals. This was the first game in more than three years between the two schools that was decided by three goals or more.
- CSU currently holds an 11 game winning streak against Colorado.
- The 2nd Annual Rocky Mountain Showdown was put on by the Colorado State Lacrosse Alumni Association and was another success.
- CSU has is becoming quite the fourth quarter team, including this game State has now outscored its opponents 43-21 this season in the final frame.
- Shay Cunningham continues to lead Colorado State in scoring with 50pts, Nick Stanitz-Harper is a close second with 49pts.
Statistics:
Attendance: 2000+
Weather: Under the Lights, Warm
SCORE BY PERIOD 1 2 3 4 Tot
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Colorado State...... 1 6 2 3 - 12
U of Colorado....... 2 4 2 1 - 9
Colorado State SCORING:
GOALS: Patrick Bird 4; Nick Stanitz-Harper 2; Brian Stone 2;
Danny Stevens 1; Shay Cunningham 1; Ryan MacDonald 1; Michael Murphy 1.
ASSISTS: Tim Farquhar 2; Danny Stevens 2; Shay Cunningham 1;
Ryan MacDonald 1; Michael Murphy 1.
U of Colorado SCORING:
GOALS: Andrew Upah 3; Brian Morgan 3; Jason Anderson 2;
Patrick Janson 1.
ASSISTS: Zach Lynd 3; Jason Anderson 2; Keith McGlone 1; TEAM 1.
GOALTENDER SUMMARY
U of Colorado Minutes GA W/L 1 2 3 4 Saves
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32 Neema Kasaii........ 60:00 12 L 1 1 1 5 8
Colorado State Minutes GA W/L 1 2 3 4 Saves
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3 Pete Jokisch........ 60:00 9 W 3 5 5 2 15
SHOTS BY PERIOD 1 2 3 4 Tot
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Colorado State...... 7 9 10 15 - 41
U of Colorado....... 9 12 13 12 - 46
SAVES BY PERIOD 1 2 3 4 Tot
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Colorado State...... 3 5 5 2 - 15
U of Colorado....... 1 1 1 5 - 8
GROUND BALLS BY PRD 1 2 3 4 Tot
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Colorado State...... 11 10 4 7 - 32
U of Colorado....... 12 15 8 10 - 45
FACE-OFFS BY PRD 1 2 3 4 Total
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Colorado State...... 1-4 3-11 2-4 2-5 - 8-24
U of Colorado....... 3-4 8-11 2-4 3-5 - 16-24
CLEARS BY PERIOD 1 2 3 4 Total
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Colorado State...... 7-8 7-10 4-5 4-5 - 22-28
U of Colorado....... 5-10 2-6 5-5 7-8 - 19-29
EXTRA-MAN OPPS 1 2 3 4 Total
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Colorado State...... 0-2 1-2 0-1 0-2 - 1-7
U of Colorado....... 0-0 2-2 0-1 1-2 - 3-5
PENALTIES - CSU 6/5:00; CU 7/5:30.
SCORING SUMMARY:
Prd Time Team Type Goal Scorer Assists
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1. 1st 10:31 CU EVEN Jason Anderson Unassisted
2. 9:39 CU EVEN Andrew Upah Zach Lynd
3. 0:13 CSU EVEN Nick Stanitz-Harper Unassisted
4. 2nd 14:26 CSU EVEN Patrick Bird Unassisted
5. 13:23 CSU EVEN Patrick Bird Danny Stevens
6. 11:45 CSU EVEN Brian Stone Michael Murphy
7. 10:29 CU EVEN Jason Anderson Unassisted
8. 9:12 CSU EVEN Shay Cunningham Tim Farquhar
9. 7:03 CU EVEN Andrew Upah Zach Lynd
10. 4:57 CSU UP Ryan MacDonald Danny Stevens
11. 4:22 CU UP Brian Morgan Keith McGlone
12. 2:33 CSU EVEN Nick Stanitz-Harper Unassisted
13. 1:04 CU UP Brian Morgan TEAM
14. 3rd 12:40 CSU EVEN Danny Stevens Tim Farquhar
15. 11:19 CSU EVEN Patrick Bird Unassisted
16. 4:59 CU EVEN Patrick Janson Jason Anderson
17. 0:45 CU EVEN Andrew Upah Zach Lynd
18. 4th 10:01 CSU EVEN Patrick Bird Unassisted
19. 5:56 CSU EVEN Michael Murphy Ryan MacDonald
20. 5:39 CSU EVEN Brian Stone Shay Cunningham
21. 2:38 CU UP Brian Morgan Jason Anderson
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