The University of Michigan women's lacrosse team was tied with No. 17 Colorado with 25 minutes to play, but a strong second half from the Buffaloes led to a 20-10 win for Colorado on Friday, Feb. 9, at the Episcopal School of Jacksonville's Pajcic-Hunt Field. Tonight's game marked the season opener for both teams and the first game at the helm of the program for U-M head coach Hannah Nielsen. "It was exciting to get the first game under the belt," said Nielsen. "It's a great measure of where we're at. Colorado is a great team and it was good to see how we stacked up. I was proud of the girls for their efforts and how they fought all the way through." Junior Adriana Pendino and sophomore Lilly Grass led Michigan on the offensive end with three goals each. Overall, seven of U-M's 10 goals came on free-position attempts, including a perfect 3-for-3 mark from Pendino. The three goals tied a career high for Pendino and tied Michigan's all-time record for FPGs in a game. "We've definitely worked on those, knowing the way the game is going now, there's a lot of free positions," said Nielsen. "I think it's important to make those count and overall, I was proud of the way we ran the offense and buried our shots when we got them." Michigan's defensive core of juniors Madison Richardson, Maggie Handlan and Casey Cummo and sophomore Quinn Melidona had a strong showing in their first game as a unit. Richardson led the group with three ground balls. "I don't think the score really reflects how the defense played -- I think the defense as a whole did really well and they toughed it out until the end," added Nielsen. Colorado held a slight edge in draw controls, 17-15, with sophomore Molly Garrett (seven) and freshman Maggie Kane (five) combining to haul in 12 draw controls. Those numbers marked career highs for Garret and Kane, and Garret's seven draw controls are tied for fourth at U-M for most in a single game. Colorado opened the game on a 5-1 run, with sophomore Nadine Stewart netting the first goal of the season on an assist from junior Maddie Klee. Draw controls and free-position shots were the key to U-M's response. Garrett won four straight draw controls, and Grass (two) and Pendino (one) scored three straight free-position goals before sophomore Chandler Kirby tied the game with an unassisted goal at the 11:57 mark. Pendino and Grass each tallied free-position goals before the end of the half to make it 9-7 at the break in Colorado's favor. The Wolverines came out attacking in the second half, as Garrett and Pendino each drew free-position attempts and converted within the first minute and a half. Sophomore Sydney Whitaker and Kane grabbed the first two draw controls of the half to keep possession for Michigan. Colorado added its first goal of the half with 28 minutes to play before graduate student Bianca Brueckner scored a free-position goal to tie the game at 10 with 25:57 left on the clock. Following Brueckner's goal, the draw control began to go in Colorado's favor, allowing the Buffaloes to gain momentum. CU closed the game on a 10-0 run to produce the final score of 20-10. Junior goalie Alli Kothari earned the start in cage for the Wolverines, making 10 saves in her season debut, including seven in the first half. "The messages of support and the excitement around the program, and especially to be here at Michigan, it means a lot," said Nielsen. "I'm glad to get the first game under my belt, which takes a little bit of pressure off, and now we can keep moving forward." The Wolverines will cap their season-opening weekend with a matchup against the Jacksonville Dolphins on Sunday (Feb. 11) at noon in Jacksonville, Florida. The game will be streamed live on ESPN3.