Denver men’s lacrosse (4-3) returned to a sold-out Peter Barton Stadium to play under the lights Monday night. It was a rare matchup against #7 Syracuse, a side that had not traveled to Denver in 14 seasons. Coming off a narrow road loss to #8 Ohio State (6-4), the Pioneers had a chance to earn a statement win against the ranked Orange. At halftime, the score was close (6-5 Syracuse) but a six-goal Syracuse third quarter looked to bury Denver. However, the Pioneers rallied in the fourth quarter and forged a chance to tie the contest in the final minute. DU’s attempted game-tying shot bounced wide of the cage and Syracuse left with the win, 13-12.
Early in the first quarter, Syracuse forced a turnover near the cage and capitalized, a 1-0 lead. Denver’s Sam Trumble scored on the break up the middle to level the score, 1-1. DU followed that a minute later with a target from Chase Bruno to take the lead, 2-1. Denver took that margin into the second quarter. Denver went 1-4 from the X and gave up 7 ground balls but stout defense and goalie Grayson Manning forged the first-quarter lead for Denver.
The second quarter was back and forth as the teams traded scoring throughout the quarter. Denver’s Cody Malawsky got first blood as the teams exchanged goals in the first two minutes of the quarter, 3-2. A DU turnover in the defensive zone gave Syracuse a tie at 10:25 of the quarter. On a rapid-fire fast break by DU, Malawsky, buried a shot from the right flank, 4-3. Again, the Orange quickly struck to even the game. Denver punched back when Lucas Klokiw found the ball in space around the cage and kissed the twine, 5-4 Denver. The Orange countered a minute later, beating goalie Manning, 5-5. With a half minute remaining, DU was called for a push and the Orange went on the man-up advantage. Syracuse found paydirt when Luke Rhoa buried a laser from distance as the Orange grabbed their first and only lead of the half. In the first half, Syracuse owned ground balls (19-10) and faceoffs (8 to 5).
The third quarter was all Syracuse. In the first minute of the second half, the Orange buried a goal from the left flank, 7-5. A minute later, the Orange answered again, 8-5, threatening to blow the game wide open. The Orange won another faceoff, cut in front of the cage, and grounded a shot past Manning, 9-5 – all this in the first three minutes of the quarter. Following yellow flags against Syracuse, DU scored on the continuation, 9-6, as Cheyne Repp tickled the twine. Syracuse hit double digits at 6:45, 10-6, and followed that with an overhead strike from distance to build an 11-6 lead. The quarter was all Syracuse. Denver finally responded to the Orange onslaught with some nifty cycling and buried a rifle shot from Malawsky from the top of the key. Once again, Syracuse got the faceoff and immediately erased the Malawsky goal with one of their own, 12-7. The period had the Orange burying 6 goals on 13 shots. The Pioneers looked to be in disarray. But, there were still 15 minutes of lacrosse to be played.
The fourth quarter started with a man-up goal by DU’s Rory Graham as he received the ball in traffic and directed it past Syracuse goalie Jimmy McCool., 8-12. Denver struck twenty seconds later as Marek Tzagournis cut into the Orange lead, 9-12. Denver struck again on the break, finished by DU’s Chris Merageas, as Syracuse fell back on their back foot, 12-10 with thirteen and a half minutes remaining. Denver had scored three goals in under 35 seconds to get back in the game. Syracuse finally responded with a flick-and-goal from the left flank to restore order, 13-10. This time, DU’s Chase Bruno finished with a nifty snipe, 13-11, with ten minutes to go. Flags started to fly on Denver as tempers flared in the tight contest. Denver weathered the man-up and went on the attack. An overhead dart from the left flank by DU’s Chris Merageas beat McCool and cut the lead to one, 13-12 at 3:44. Syracuse held on to the ball for most of the final minutes. DU finally got the ball back with thirty seconds to go but the Syracuse defense stood tall. Desperation shots by Chase Bruno and Marek Tzagournis bounced wide of the cage. Final score 13-12, Syracuse.
Next up, Denver travels to Durham, N.C. and faces Duke on Sunday at 11 am MT.