Denver stayed within one goal at halftime, 5-4, but ultimately Notre Dame’s depth and talent seized the day as the Irish rolled to a 13-6 win against a determined Denver side. Denver had a narrow path to victory but the Pioneers were betrayed at the X, committed far too many turnovers, and an injury to offensive star, JJ Sillstrop, limited DU’s offensive production. Notre Dame owned the day and in the end, the better team earned the victory.
The first quarter was all Notre Dame, forcing five turnovers and limiting Denver’s offensive opportunities. Richie Connell fired a shot over the shoulder of goalie Liam Entenmann to draw first blood, 1-0. It would be the Pioneers’ only lead of the day. Less than a minute later, Chris Kavanagh found twine to knot the score. The teams traded empty possessions until a turnover by DU and a breakaway led to a Matt Cavanagh to put the Irish up 2-1 at 6:45. A leaping goal by Kavanagh capped the scoring for the quarter and put Notre Dame up 3-1. Sillstrop exited the game early in the first quarter with a shoulder injury and reentered later in the quarter but with his left shoulder heavily wrapped which clearly limited his production.
Michael Lampert slipped another high shot past goalie Liam Entenmann narrowing the score to 3-2 to open the second quarter. Denver forced a ND turnover and Steven Avery bounced a shot past Entenmann, 3-3. Malcolm Kleban made huge saves for DU but the Irish owned the X. Denver left the front of the crease wide open and Bryce Walker fed Jake Taylor for the lead, 4-3, with under five minutes until half. Less than a minute later, ND scored again after another faceoff win, 5-3. With under a minute to go, big Richie Connell rifled an overhead shot into the net to pull within one goal, 5-4.
It was an amazing half for Denver, staying within one goal after losing ten of eleven faceoffs in the half (10-1). Denver’s defense was solid, and Kleban kept the Pioneers in the game. It was Notre Dame’s dangerous offense that earned the narrow halftime edge. Add turnovers and the Sillstrop injury and the Pioneers faced an uphill climb.
Denver had a turnover-prone third quarter as the Irish talent began to seize control with the extra opportunities, outscoring Denver 4-1 to essentially seal the victory. Pat Kavanagh opened the scoring a minute-and-a-half into the second half. Denver countered with the shot clock running down when Cody Malawsky poked a loose ground ball into the cage, 6-5. But that would be as close as Denver would come for the rest of the day as Notre Dame responded with consecutive goals by Devon McLane and Eric Dobson to build their largest lead, 8-5, on the Pioneers to that point. A critical unforced defensive turnover by the Pioneers following a great Denver penalty kill, gave the Kavanagh brothers a fast-break goal, 9-5.
Josh Carlson opened the scoring for DU in the fourth quarter on a streaking shot to make it 9-6. But ND’s McClane found Kleban’s five-hole to push the lead back to four, 10-6, with ten minutes remaining and end any hope for a Denver miracle. Notre Dame would add three more goals in garbage time to seal the 13-6 victory and end the Pioneers’ season.
The loser’s lament would cite faceoff losses (18/23), the Sillstrop injury, turnovers, and the brick wall that is Irish goalie Liam Entenmann. Ultimately, the best team won with the deepest and highest level of talent on their roster and, if everyone is being honest with themselves, Maryland does not stand a realistic chance at pulling off the upset on Monday. There is a lot to be optimistic about with the direction of the reenergized DU men’s lacrosse team under head coach Matt Brown and his staff. Not many experts or fans picked the Pioneers to even make it to the NCAA Quarterfinals, let alone the semis this season and Denver made a huge statement that the Lacrosse Capital of the West is officially back. The future at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium is bright and Matt Brown has all of the tools and laid a great foundation in his first year to keep building towards his program’s second national title.
As I said earlier, the DU/ND game would come down to defensive stops, face-offs, turnovers, ground balls and goaltending saves percentage, and if the Irish would win even one or more of those categories, it would be hard for DU to win the game.
Well, the Irish simply curb-stomped the Pios on face-offs, ground balls, goaltending saves percentage and turnovers (that’s four categories) to win this game in a serious rout, and the Irish left no doubts about who the best team was today.
The Pios hung tough for a half, but it really was nolo contendre after half-time. The reality of ND’s overwhelming talent advantage was obvious and glaring. Ten years ago, DU had all-Americans all over the field, and today, they really didn’t. Most of DU’s success this year was driven by fifth year veteran players like Stathakis, Hangland, DiBenedetto, Sillstrop, Connell, Mercurio and Edinger. Seniors Kleban, Avery, Hussey, Giles, and Lampert also move on.
That brings us to recruiting, an area where DU has been slumping for a while now….Next year’s Pios will be a very young with lots of starting positions up for grabs. The offense will be keyed by guys like Manning, Malawski, Tortolani (?) and Kelly who are all pretty average offensive players at this level, at least so far. The close defense will be very inexperienced, with only Jimmy Freehill as the one good known commodity coming back. SSDM looks pretty good if Dan Anderson and Casey Wilson come back. But the Pios will need a new face-off man and a new goalie, too, and I’m not sure if the guys on the current roster can replace Stathakis and Kleban.
In short, this DU team may likely take some lumps next year as the losses are big. But perhaps the Pios can find some answers in the portal and from the recruits to stay in the hunt. At least, the climb under Matt Brown began with an overachieving bunch that got the program back to a top 4 finish. Staying in the top 10 next year will be difficult….
We ran into a buzz saw in all facets today. Still, I feel the team over-achieved this season by making it to the semis. Thanks for all the excitement and being so much better than expected. Already looking forward to next lax season.
What an odd photo to accompany this article. Nice season, DU. It was great to be back in the spotlight.