Nothing was going Colorado’s way, and the Buffaloes were staring at a sudden and jarring end to one of the greatest seasons in team history.

But then, like the rest of CU’s lineup, senior Maddie Shoup drew a line in the sand.

“We weren’t ready to stop playing,” Shoup said.

Thanks to a dominant surge late in the fourth quarter, Shoup and the Buffs are still playing.

The eighth-seeded Colorado women’s lacrosse team rallied past Jacksonville, shaking off a rough third quarter to defeat the Dolphins 10-9 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday at Prentup Field.

Returning to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019, the Buffs have advanced to the second round in three of their four tournament appearances and will seek their first berth in the quarterfinals when they host Denver in the second round Sunday (1 p.m., ESPN+).

The final score was identical to the overtime victory the Buffs posted at Jacksonville on April 6, and CU extended the second-longest winning streak in program history to eight games. Also like the win against Jacksonville last month, the winning goal was scored by freshman Rowan Edson, who broke a 9-9 tie off an assist from Molly Reed with 6 minutes, 6 seconds remaining.

“We knew this was going to be a battle, very similar to the last time we went down and played them. They’re a tough team,” said CU head coach Ann Elliott Whidden, whose team improved to 8-0 at home. “They give us a challenge on the defensive end, and great on the draws, and just scrappy overall. But I’m excited and proud of my team for the fight and to just finish it out when our backs were against the wall.”

The Buffs (15-3) scored three goals in the game’s first eight minutes and led 6-3 at halftime before the Dolphins rallied. CU went without a goal for a span of 23:57 of game time, with the Buffs getting held scoreless in the third quarter while committing six of their 16 turnovers during the frame. Beginning late in the first half, Jacksonville scored five consecutive goals, taking an 8-6 lead on Maeve Brennan’s second goal 1:25 into the fourth quarter.

CU, though, played a schedule this season that featured eight eventual NCAA Tournament foes on the road, and the Buffs proved unflappable at crunch time. Colorado responded with three consecutive goals, netting the first from Shoup before a pair of goals from Teagan Ryan recaptured the lead for CU at 9-8.

Jacksonville (13-6) pulled even on a goal from Shae Hagans with 9:51 left, but Edson answered with the winner off a feed from Reed, who secured the possession with the second of two critical takeaways in the fourth quarter.

CU held Jacksonville scoreless the rest of the way to maintain its streak of holding every opponent this season to a single-digit goal total. The Dolphins entered the tournament ranked 11th in the nation in scoring at 14.83 goals per game, but they matched their lowest scoring total of the season set in the previous matchup against the Buffs.

“We just kind of showed our fight towards the fourth quarter,” Shoup said. “I think the third quarter was rough, but going into the fourth quarter we had a lot of energy and a lot of movement even though we were down.”

(8) CU Buffs women’s lacrosse 10, Jacksonville 9

Jacksonville    1 3 3 2 — 9

Colorado         4 2 0 4 — 10

Goals — Jacksonville: Hagans 5, Brennan 2, Nicholson, Santini. Colorado: Shoup 3, Edson 2, Hill 2, Ryan 2. Gardner.

Assists — Jacksonville: Berry 2, Scruggs 2, Giller, Hagans. Colorado: Kennedy 3, Assini, Reed, Shoup.

Goalies (Min.-goals allowed-saves) — Jacksonville: Hodgin (23-6-2); Alewine (37-4-4). Colorado: Oh (60-9-4).