COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Griffon Lacrosse (4-3, 0-0 GLVC) wrapped up its second Colorado swing with a 14-9 loss to UCCS (3-4, 1-1 RMAC) on Wednesday afternoon at Mountain Lion Stadium.

UCCS struck first in the opening minutes on a man-up opportunity, but the Griffons answered quickly with an unassisted goal from Brittian Gulick to even the score at 1-1. The Mountain Lions regained the lead, but Maddie Chidester responded to tie it again at 2-2 midway through the first quarter in a back-and-forth start.

From there, UCCS took control, closing the quarter on a 5-0 run. Capitalizing on multiple man-up chances, the Mountain Lions extended their lead to 7-2 by the end of the period, creating early separation heading into the second quarter.

The Griffons responded with a strong push to open the second quarter, scoring three straight goals in under two minutes. Caetryn Gilreath started the run off an assist from Brinley Willenbrock, followed by Chidester finishing from Maleah Sosa and Willenbrock adding an unassisted goal to cut the deficit to 7-5. After UCCS briefly halted the momentum, Gilreath struck again off a pass from Ryann Durrett to make it 8-6.

Gulick added another unassisted goal to bring MWSU within one, and Chidester tied the game at 8-8 with 7:59 remaining, capping off a 6-1 stretch to open the quarter. UCCS answered with a late man-up goal to regain the lead, but Chidester delivered again in the final minutes with an unassisted score to even the game at 9-9 heading into halftime.

UCCS took control coming out of the break and shut down the Griffon offense in the second half. The Mountain Lions opened the third quarter with back-to-back goals to regain the lead and never looked back, then added a man-up score late in the period to extend the margin to 12-9.

In the fourth quarter, UCCS continued to control possession and pace, adding two more goals while holding MWSU scoreless over the final 30 minutes. The Griffons were unable to break through offensively in the second half as UCCS closed out the game on a 5-0 run to secure the 14-9 result.

What's Next
The Griffons return home to St. Joseph for a matchup against Grand Valley State on Sunday, March 22. Opening draw is set for 1 p.m. at Spratt Stadium.