Sweet, Sweet, Sweet 16. The Colorado College women's lacrosse team will play in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament yet again as they downed No. 25 University of Chicago on Sunday, 20-14, in Chicago, Ill. 
 
The Tigers will play the No. 1 team in the country and defending back-to-back national champion Middlebury on Saturday, May 18, in Middlebury, VT. 
 
Against the Maroons, the Tigers trailed only once despite the back-and-forth scoring until the final horn. Similar to the first matchup of the season against UChicago, CC relied on the various aspects of the offense to pull away. A strong third quarter built the lead up to seven, and the Tigers were able to hold on despite a fourth-quarter comeback by UChicago. 
 
Seven Tigers found the back of the net with senior Kendall Havill leading the way. The Bainbridge, WA native dished out an outstanding eight goals off only 10 shots. She also forced two turnovers and grabbed a ground ball. 

With eight points, Havill surpassed Steph Kelly for the most points in a single season in program history. The Bainbridge, WA native now has 115 in her historic senior campaign. Havill also reached the mark for most goals in a single season and will look to add to the tally this weekend. 
 
Freshmen Charlotte Iler and Sofia Mancino combined for 10 points, seven goals, and three assists. Sophomore Grace Bean was the last player with multiple goals, as the Boston native racked up two along with three ground balls. 
 
The Maroons grabbed the early 2-0 out of the gates, as CC was held scoreless for the first six minutes of the game. Havill finally broke through with her first goal with 9:03 remaining in the quarter. UChicago countered with a score of their own just nine seconds later off the draw control, but the Tigers held steady and racked up three straight to take the lead. 
 
Mancino scored on a free-position play to cut the lead down to one. A few plays later, Havill knotted it up with an assist from Tobin Lonergan, and then Iler took the lead with another free-position goal with 4:55 remaining. 
 
The Maroons tied the game 4-4 just 40 seconds later, but Havill racked up her third of the quarter with 26 seconds left,, and CC held a 5-4 lead going into the second. Freshman Oliv Janerico scored her second goal is as many games to kick off the quarter. Peyton McGuire from UChicago, who scored the first two goals of the match, deflated the lead back to one with her third goal on the day. Nonetheless, CC regained momentum with back-to-back strikes from Iler and Healy Bledsoe. 
 
The two teams traded goals to round out the first half, Chicago took advantage of two CC penalties but the Tigers went into the locker room scoring the last two goals, including a woman-down goal from Grace Bean and CC led 10-7 at the break. 
 
In addition to the two goals at the end of the second, CC went on their most impactful run of the tournament thus far, scoring four goals to start the third quarter to take a 14-7 lead with 3:20 remaining. Havill added two more scored and Iler and Bean also chalked up two tallies. 
 
The Maroons ended the run eventually and proceeded to attempt a comeback, scoring five out the next six goals and came within three with 8:23 left in the game. With a possible threat to the lead emerging, Havill slammed the door with three-consecutive free-position goals to establish a  six-goal advantage with under four minutes to play. 
 
Mancino tapped on another two goals to cancel out U Chicago's final two goals and CC rolled to the 20-14 win. 
 
It is the 11th 20-goal performance the Tigers have put up this season and the second against the Maroons, capitializing on their 26-goal performance in March which was the new program record for most in a game. 
 
Havill recorded her third eighth goal game of the season and fifth of her career. Defensively, Goalkeeper Cassidy Schnauffer saved 12 balls while Bledsoe led the team with six ground balls and two caused turnovers. Mancino led CC with three draw controls. 
 
CC will take on No. 1 Middlebury in the next round. The Panthers are a perfect 19-0 on the season and are attempting to win their third national title in a row after winning back-to-back in 2022 and 2023. Middlebury downed St. John Fisher on Saturday 18-6. 
 
The Tigers last played the Panthers on March 28, 2012.