Chippewa Lacrosse Hangs Tough with No. 19 Colorado

Thursday, February 29

Mount Pleasant, Mich.

3 PM

Central Michigan University

0-6

Colorado

4-1

Colorado

Central Michigan

Photo by: Jack Reeber '23,M'25 - @jackreeber.raw

2/29/2024 7:00:00 PM | Lacrosse

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Martel posts gem in the cage, seven Chippewas register points against nationally ranked Buffaloes

By: Harrison LaLone

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. — Central Michigan Lacrosse stood toe-to-toe with No. 19 Colorado Thursday afternoon at the CMU Lacrosse Complex, leading by as many as three goals while staying within one of the Buffaloes near the end of the third quarter.

The Chippewas saw a banner performance from junior goalie Alexa Martel (Rochester, N.Y. / Greece Olympia) as she tallied 17 saves, 10 in the second half, to come just one shy of tying a career mark set in the 2022 season.

The attack pounced early for a 3-0 lead in just over six minutes as Hanna Wenger (Loveland, Ohio / Loveland), Sadie Hinkle (Medina, Ohio / Medina) and Natalie DiSanto (Waterloo, N.Y. / Waterloo) each found the back of the net, with the first two assisted by Alayna Davis (Rockford, Mich. / Forest Hills Eastern). Davis and Kelsey Barratt (Voorhees, N.J. / Eastern) marked their respective first career starts Thursday, the fifth and sixth to do so this season.

Reagan Martinsen (Long Beach, N.Y. / Long Beach) responded to Colorado's first score of the game with 30 seconds left in the quarter, 4-1, with help from Skye DePrado (Pittsburgh, Pa / North Allegheny).

Makenna Huhn (Parker, Colo. / Chaparral) returned CMU to a tie with the Buffaloes after a four-goal run from the visitors, capitalizing on a player-up situation, 5-5, but one more strike from Colorado left a 6-5 deficit at the half.

DePrado added her team-high 11^th goal of the season early in the third to reset the game's margin, 6-6, while Hinkle notched her second goal of the day with 90 seconds to go in the third to draw back within one, 8-7. Colorado finally broke through with five straight, starting with a strike at 23 seconds left in the third.

Martel faced 42 shots, 30 attempts on goal, in the contest with 17 in the second half. Despite the late-game barrage, the Chippewa goalie held the nation's 19^th-ranked squad to fewer goals (13) than No. 3 Northwestern did last Thursday in a 19-14 affair in Boulder, Colo.

Central Michigan Lacrosse will pay its own visit to the third-ranked, reigning national-champion Wildcats Sunday for a 2 p.m. ET (1 p.m. CT) first draw. A stretch of three straight nationally ranked opponents concludes next Saturday (March 9) with a trip to No. 6 Michigan.

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