It was a cold, yellow-ball day at Peter Barton stadium when #9 DU men’s Lacrosse (2-0) opened against Air Force. The conditions included freezing sleet throughout the game on a new carpet that played like a slippery slide. Legendary head Coach Bill Tierney was in the radio booth while his protege, Matt Brown, led the Pioneers in the uncertain conditions. Tierney must have been beside himself, witnessed 29 total turnovers in the first half by  Air Force (13) and Denver (16).  The teams turned over the ball another 20 times in the second half as the field appeared to get even more slippery while making unwise passes and clears. And yes, the footing was treacherous. Ultimately, the Pioneers figured it out in the final minutes and eeked out an 11-9 win over AFA.

The first quarter started slowly as the two teams adjusted to the conditions. Denver employed an aggressive press against the Air Force. Noah Manning scored DU’s first goal of the season against AFA at 3:10. Three and a half minutes later, freshman midfielder Lucas Klokiw scored for the Pioneers. Less than a minute later, Manning tickled the twine for a 3-0 lead. Air Force ended the quarter with a rebound and tuck-and-score, 3-1. The Pioneers were coasting, right? Wrong!

Less than one minute into the second quarter, Mic Kelly beat goalie Ouinn Richards for a 4-1 DU edge. It looked good for DU but a charging AFA squad went on a tear. It was all Air Force as DU struggled to clear the ball and made ill-advised passes with 13 turnovers in the period to AFA’s 7. AFA strung together two quick goals on a turnover and groundball to pull within one, 4-3. Another turnover on defense led to a hit, turnover and goal on Malcolm Kleban, 4-4. Another turnover put Air Force up a goal, 5-4 AFA. The half ended with Denver trailing.

The third quarter was far from clean but Denver made fewer mistakes than the blue-clad Cadets. In the first minute, Air Force struck again with a make from Chris Barda to go up 6-4. Denver reeled off four straight goals with bookend goals by Mic Kelly, sandwiched before and after a pair of JJ Sillstrop makes to put Denver up 8-6 heading into the final 20 minutes.

In the final quarter, Air Force responded with their own run, outscoring DU 3-1 with nine minutes remaining in the game to draw even.  Less than a minute later, DU’s Richie Connel found the back of the net and earned some Pioneer breathing room. The Cadets got all pipe on a good look down the stretch but Denver countered with the knockout punch when Noah Manning scored, 11-9, with 3:54 remaining. Those two goals (below) ended the scoring on the chilly, slippery day.

Next up is a trip to Utah net Saturday to face the Utes.