Chapman Downs Colorado
13-8; 
Sornsin Done For Season
Nick Salen; Public
Relations, CU Lacrosse
Orange, CA
(March 26, 2010) - The University of Colorado suffered their third straight
loss Friday night to No. 2 Chapman by a final score of 13-8. The loss sends the Buffaloes to 2-4 for the
season. Amid the controversy of the
game, Colorado would also lose sophomore attack man Patrick Sornsin midway
through the final quarter of play. Sornsin was diagnosed with a torn ACL and is
ruled out for the remainder of the season.
CU started
the game with aggression and with two early goals by Doug Lilburne and Tyler
Padzik, establishing an early hole for the Panthers to claw out of. Chapman however would retaliate with three
unanswered goals courtesy of Connor Martin, Andrew Clayton and Madison
Fiore. CU’s James Blackburn would return
the favor with a buzzer beater at the end of the first to bring the score to a
tie at 3-3.
The
Panther’s would begin to tilt the game in their favor during the second,
netting six total past the Buffs’ Bradley Macnee. Colorado would answer only once during those
fifteen minutes; sophomore Nick Kupcewicz would net it at the 10:12 mark before
being answered four times by Chapman. Kupcewicz also found himself among controversy
at the 3:17 mark, when a fight broke out on the field in the Buffs’ defensive
zone.
Chapman’s Ben Petraglia was seen
throwing punches after a crosscheck by CU, and received a three minute conduct
penalty and an ejection from the game, as well as Kupcewicz, whom officials
claimed came off the sideline to throw punches of his own. CU was
therefore a man down after play resumed, due to the crosscheck call and
Kupcewicz’s conduct. Chapman’s Clayton scored on the man up opportunity. Head coach Pete Stevenson was quoted after
the game about the incident, one that he claims was botched by the officiating
crew.
“It’s tough
when you are playing against Chapman and the officials. This was the worst officiated game I’ve ever
seen. They did a terrible job of
maintaining the game; they let a fight happen, and then turned it on the team
[CU]. The guy who threw the punch, the
other team got the penalties, and it really turned into a madhouse. They did a horrible job communicating to the
bunch, communicating to the coaches. It
was the worst officiated game I’ve ever seen in my life, and that really made
it so difficult for us to get back in the game, when we were fighting two teams
tonight.”
Should the
ruling stand, Kupcewicz and Petraglia would be suspended for the following game
for their respective teams in accordance with NCAA/MCLA rules.
Coming into
the second half, the Panthers had a five goal lead at 9-4, which was more than
enough to eventually put away the game for the undefeated team. Chapman would tally two more in the third and
fourth to seal the win; Colorado would also score four more times but
unfortunately wasn’t enough to upset the number 2 team in the MCLA. Doug Lilburne led the Buffaloes’ scoring
again during the game, securing the hat trick early in the fourth thanks to his
fellow attack man James Blackburn. For
Chapman, it was Connor Martin, netting five goals to add to his already
impressive stat record for the season. Connor
currently is among the top 50 players in the MCLA.
Up next is
the annual Rocky Mountain Showdown, Colorado vs. Colorado State. The long time rivals will square off at Dicks
Sporting Goods Park April 3rd.
The neutral site is expected to draw the crowd of Mile High laxers alike
and as history shows, will be a game filled with fireworks.
“It’s a huge
game next Saturday,” Stevenson says. “It’s another chance to prove that we are
a top team in the nation. We haven’t
proved that yet, but it’s nice to have so many great teams in a row here and
prove our worth.” After No. 3 CSU,
Colorado is scheduled to play No. 1 Michigan, No. 6 Minnesota-Duluth and No. 7
Michigan State, all at home.
Despite the
record, Colorado has shown drastic improvements over the past few games, and
seem primed to surprise their upcoming foes.
Game Notes:
Goals by
quarter:
Chapman:
Connor- 5 Andrew- 3 Fiore-
2 Morrison- 2 Small- 1
CU:
Lilburne- 3 Blackburn- 2 Padzik- 1 Kupcewicz-
1 Hulick- 1
Shots:
Groundballs:
Chapman: 41 CU: 29
Turnovers:
Chapman: 12 CU: 11
Penalties:
Chapman- 10
for 10:30 CU- 8 for 9:00