CU 3 - Michigan State 11

Buffs in Shock and Awe After First Road Trip
By: David Leach; Assistant Coach, CU Lacrosse

East Lansing, MI (March 15, 2009) - Taking the field for the second time in as many days, the Buffs continued their disappointing trip to Michigan with a loss to #23 Michigan State University by a score of 11-3.

With an almost identical start to the day before against Michigan, the Buffs found themselves in a 1-0 hole less than a minute after the opening face-off. Spartan attackman Brian Kegley (Detroit Country Day/ Beverly Hills, MI) struck first, and by the end of the day, he would tally up four in total.

Minutes later, Darren Hulick (Heritage/ Littleton, CO) found his 10th of the season to even things out and give his team a fighting chance.

Almost immediately, Michigan State, in their first game of the 2009 season, answered back with a goal by Patrick Nemes (Detroit Catholic Central/ Novi, MI).

The Spartans, seemingly overshadowed by their rivals in Ann Arbor year-after-year, had a new look to their game. With the guidance of new Head Coach Dwayne Hicks, former coach at Notre Dame, Oakland, & Eastern Michigan, MSU moved the ball quick and flashed through the offensive zone with a determination that even the Wolverines would be impressed with. For the visiting Buffs, things only got worse when Nemes found his second of an eventual hat-trick, to put MSU up 3-1 at the end of the first.

With a sense of urgency, the boys from Boulder took the field for the second quarter determined to not let this game get out of hand. Freshman Nick Kupcewicz (Harrison/ Kennesaw, GA) ripped a shot with the tenacity of a veteran-player, picking off the far corner and putting the game to within two. Nick, or “Kup” as his teammates refer to him, would take seven shots this afternoon, with just the lone-goal to show for it.

Michigan State, who clearly had been anticipating this season-opener for months, answered-back with gusto. Before the end of the 1st half they would hold the Buffs to just 13 shots, while taking 20 of their own, and a 5-2 lead after Conor Bush (Detroit Catholic Central/ Novi, MI) found the first two goals of ultimately his own hat-trick.

CU continued to struggle against a superb defensive effort lead by MSU goalie Dean Hall (Farmington/ Farmington, MI) who posted 13 saves and appeared undisturbed by the Buffs 2nd half pressure. Through the final two quarters, Hall would face 25 shots, and allow only one goal to appear on the score column for the CU-squad.

In the closing stanza, Joel Packer (Stevenson/ Monterey, CA) found a pass from Hulick right on the doorstep, in a final push to swap the momentum and give his beloved black and gold brethren a chance at the W.

Sadly however, Colorado couldn’t achieve what they had traveled over 1,100 miles to do.

With penalties piling up in the second half (six penalties, for 4 minutes:30 seconds) and time winding down, the Buffs accepted their third defeat of the season to match their number of wins. A final score of 11-3 would send the Buffs packing, pondering what could’ve been, and preparing for their next opportunity for redemption.

Standing at 3-3 on the season now, CU will have more than a week off from competition before traveling to Georgia for Spring Break to face the University of Georgia, Georgia Tech, and #6 Florida State University. “This trip will test their mettle,” said assistant coach Tate Price, “But each game is a new day, each with another chance to return to the top”.