After a slow start to the season, the Colorado women’s lacrosse team regrouped at home, winning three in a row before hitting the road again.

But a return to the road meant an end to the momentum for the Buffaloes.

CU dropped an 11-9 decision against Dartmouth on Sunday in a neutral-field matchup played at TDECU Stadium in Houston. The defeat ended a three-game winning streak and dropped the Buffs (4-5) back under .500.

CU led 4-2 at the end of the first quarter, but a busy second quarter that featured a combined nine goals ended with Dartmouth taking an 8-7 lead into the break. Dartmouth held the Buffs scoreless in the third quarter and pushed its lead to 10-7 early in the fourth quarter.

Goals by Maddie Shoup and Kendall Havill rallied the Buffs to within 10-9 with 10 minutes, 31 seconds remaining. But CU didn’t score another goal, and Dartmouth added an insurance tally on the third goal of the game by Fiona O’Keefe with 9:07 remaining.

Madeline Pisani paced CU’s offense with two goals and three assists, but freshman goalie Elena Oh stopped just three of 14 shots on goal by Dartmouth.

“We missed a couple things defensively where I thought we were in the right spots and could make the play; something we did well in our last game,” CU head coach Ann Elliott Whidden said in a news release. “Credit to Dartmouth for their execution offensively. Offensively for us, we generated some quality opportunities and have to find a way to finish better. Their goalie (Gisele Todd) played great with 13 saves, and on many occasions where I felt we made the right play and took a good shot, she came up with the save. This is first game we lost where I felt we committed to the game plan for 60 minutes, played pretty well but didn’t make enough plays on either end or on the draw to give ourselves more possessions.”

Sunday’s match was the first of three consecutive dates away from home for the Buffs, who open Big 12 Conference Saturday at San Diego State (2 p.m., ESPN+).