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Buffs Upset Cougars in Best Game of the Season
By: Cortney Kesselman, Public Relations, CU Lacrosse
Provo, UT (April 3, 2009) - Brigham Young University hosted the University of Colorado Men’s Lacrosse Team tonight in a game that became one for the books. CU knew this would be a tough game against #4 BYU (as ranked by CollegeLax.us), but they came prepared and did not let the rankings faze them. Both teams played extremely well but at the end of the day, the Buffs proved that they wanted it more.
 CU and BYU clearly had their game faces on right from the start. Colorado took control of the field after Aaron Gray (The Woodlands/The Woodlands, TX) won the opening face off for the team. However, after a few shots from Tyler Snyder (Arapahoe/Centennial, CO) the ball turned over, giving BYU an open door to scoring the first two of the game. As they trailed the Cougars 2-0, the boys from Boulder knew they needed to focus if they wanted to stay in the game, and by the end of the first quarter, Colorado led, 3-2. 
Despite CU’s momentum coming out of the first quarter, the Cougars took charge with the opening face-off, which allowed them to tie the game up only 16 seconds into the quarter.
Though the Buffs regained their lead with a well-placed shot from AJ Blackburn (The Hun School/Princeton, NJ), BYU responded by scoring twice in nine seconds. With the Cougars leading the Buffs by one, defensive midfielder Ryan Emerson (Park City/Park City, UT) netted one more for CU, his first of the season, tying the score back up.
Again, the Cougars met the Buffs with a two-fold response, giving them another lead at 7-5. Right before the conclusion of the first half, Michael Geocaris (New Trier Township/ Wimette, IL) brought one of the game’s most memorable moments: a breakaway play down the field, completed by a “graceful”, over-the-shoulder toss that manage to find some space beyond the goalie and into the twine. The first goal, of his lacrosse-career.
The second half went much better for CU. BYU started and ended the third quarter at 7, thanks to goalie Kevin Moriarty (Seton Hall Prep/ Chatham, NJ) who refused to let anything past him. In fact, the Buffs rigid defense would continue to hold the Cougars scoreless for 31 minutes, 23 seconds.
The game turned into a fierce, neck-in-neck battle between the two competitors. However, the Buffs were relentless, playing hard, fast, and never once letting up. By the end of the 3rd quarter, Josh Albrecht (Lafayette/ Chesterfield, MO) and Tyler Snyder each managed to put two more in the net.
 The game’s intensity definitely reached a climax during the last quarter. CU had a narrow lead going into the fourth at 8-7, but it was still anyone’s game. With both teams giving it everything they had, it took eight minutes for the scoreboard to change at all as BYU met CU with goal at 6:48 that evened the playing field yet again at 8-8. With only minutes left in the game, AJ Blackburn secured the lead for Colorado, scoring once with 3:09 left in the game and again at 2:27. They held onto their lead for the next two and half minutes, giving CU an awesome victory to bring home to Boulder.
The whole team gave a stellar performance, although a few definitely stand out. Of Colorado’s 10 goals, 4 came courtesy of AJ Blackburn, who also assisted in 1, and another 2 came from Josh Albrecht. Kevin Moriarty saved 19 shots, an amazing fete considering he typically averages between 10 and 12 saves per game. Says Moriarty: “With our second half adjustments, I was able to stop a lot more of the shots coming my way. I have to give a lot of credit though to our defense and our defensive strategy.”
Colorado will play Utah State University tomorrow at 3:30pm, and the University of Utah Sunday, at 12pm. They play at home again on Thursday, April 9, when they host Lindenwood University at 7pm on Kittredge Field.
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