(9/10) Denver men’s lacrosse opened their season against (8/8) Johns Hopkins at Peter Barton Stadium. The Blue Jays jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the first quarter and held DU to four goals in the second half for the win.

Five turnovers in the first quarter and seven shots-on-goal gave Hopkins a solid 4-1 lead. Denver’s only goal came came unassisted from Josua Carlson to open the scoring.

In the second quarter, Denver reeled off two consecutive goals from Mark Tzagournis and Cody Malawsky to pull closer to the visitors, 4-3. The Blue Jays Chauvette Hunter broke Denver’s run with 11 minutes remaining. Denver went on a three-goal tear and appeared to be taking control of the game with Lucas Klokiw, Mic Kelly and Andrew Achison finding twine for the Pioneers and a 6-5 lead. A minute later, the Blue Jays responed with a goal and drew even 6-6. DU keeper Malcolm Kleban gave up a critical final goal to Hopkins Russell Melendez with three seconds left to fall behind at the break, 7-6.

The Pioneers spent the second half chasing the Blue Jays as they built a lead and the Pioneer offense went cold. Four minutes into the second half, Malawsky struck again for Denver but that is the last time the two teams would be tied. Three consecutive goals from Hopkins pushed the lead to 10-7 as turnovers and a cold offense stalled Denver. Finally, Tzagournis scored, 10-8, as the teams went scoreless over the final four minutes.

Denver could never make a dangerous push in the fourth quarter as the Blue Jays countered every score by the Pioneers. Hopkins scored the first two goals of the period, 13-8, to take the air out of Peter Barton. Mic Kelly scored two of the final three goals but it was too little, too late as the Pioneers fell 13-10.

Give Johns Hopkins their due, they were willing to travel west and play Denver early in the season. Many East Coast programs are reluctant to make the trip to altitude against a solid Denver team. The Blue Jays showed why they are a Top-10 program this season.

As for Denver, the season is still young and there is work to do. Hopkins was 17/17 on clears while DU lost 4 clears. Denver lost the faceoff battle by 5 and turned the ball over 13 times. Hopkins shot 50% with their 24 shots-on-goal. Denver’s offense sputtered at times when they created excellent chances to make up ground on the Blue Jays.

Next up is a trip to Air Force next Saturday for the Pioneers at noon MT.