The early slide is over for the Colorado women’s lacrosse team.

Facing their fourth ranked foe in as many games to start the 2025 campaign, the Buffaloes finally made a mark in the win column, topping No. 25 Army 12-6 on Friday night.

The first-ever matchup between the programs was played at the Indoor Practice Facility, as the planned debut of Prentup Field as the home turf for the CU lacrosse program was delayed after the turf at Prentup was deemed unplayable. The Buffs have spent the past 11 seasons at Kittredge Field.

CU (1-3) used a fast start to get a jump on visiting Army, scoring the game’s first four goals before taking a 7-1 lead into halftime.

Maddie Shoup sent the Buffs off to a fast start by scoring two goals in the first 7 minutes, 7 seconds, and goals by Jaimey Hill and Morgan Pence gave CU a 4-0 lead before a goal by Army’s Geneva Milch Cesoni cut the Buffs’ lead to 4-1 going into the second quarter.

Shoup, Hill and Madeline Pisani scored goals in the second quarter to give CU a 7-1 lead at halftime.

Army managed to cut the deficit to 7-5 in the third quarter, but the Buffs scored three goals in the first 6:36 of the fourth quarter — two from Pisani — to pull away.

While the final shot tally was even at 25-25, the Buffs owned a 20-18 advantage in shots on goal. Pisani and Shoup shared the team lead with three goals apiece, with Pisani adding an assist. Freshman Elena Oh received her second consecutive start in goal for the Buffs and finished with 12 saves. Pisani reached the 100-point mark for her career.

“Even though we had a bad little bit in the third quarter, we were still up,” CU head coach Ann Elliott Whidden said in a release. “We just had to control the tempo and execute. I’m proud of them, proud they came out in that fourth quarter.”

The Buffs’ five-game homestand continues on Saturday, March 8, against Michigan (at noon, on ESPN+).