[1/1] Denver Falls to [15/12] Yale 15-13 March 10, 2024

DENVER – The [1/1] University of Denver men’s lacrosse program dropped its first game of the season by a count of 15-13 to [15/12] Yale in-front of another sold out crowd on Sunday afternoon at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium.

KEY PERFORMANCES:
JJ Sillstrop and Noah Manning finished with a hat trick apiece, while Michael Lampert finished with a team-high four points on a goal and three helpers. Joshua Carlson had two goals and a helper, Mic Kelly had a pair of goals in the first quarter and Stephen Avery had a pair of assists for the Pios.

       Malcolm Kleban kept the Pioneers in the game early, making six of his 11 saves on the afternoon in the opening quarter.

For Yale, seven players finished with multiple goals, including a hat trick and an assist from David Anderson.

Photo Gallery:  DU vs. Yale 3/10/24

NOTES:

• Sunday’s attendance was 3,037, the highest attendance of the season and the new second-highest mark in the stadium’s history (2005 opened, record in 2015).
• Denver hit six pipes on Sunday, compared to Yale’s four, bringing the total in the last six seasons to 159-85.
• Yale improved to 4-0 in the all-time series against the Pioneers.
• Denver’s loss as the number one team in the country makes this the third-consecutive week the top team in the country has lost. Denver is not 14-8 in 22 games as the number one team in the nation, including 9-5 at home.
• The Pioneers fell to 75-88 all-time against ranked opponents, including 2-1 this season. DU is 30-25 against ranked teams at PBLS.
• Denver is 121-26 at PBLS since the stadium was built in 2005.
• The loss caps the second-best start to a season in program history.
• Denver’s man-up posted another perfect day on four Yale attempts, improving to 16-of-17 on the year.

HOW IT HAPPENED:
First Quarter:
Yale got on the board first a little less than five minutes into the first quarter courtesy of Patrick Hackler’s fourth of the season. Mic Kelly struck first for the Pios in the substitution game and JJ Sillstrop finished off a quick transition goal for the Pioneers to give DU its first lead of the day with 7:34 to go in the opening quarter.

David Anderson got his first of three for Yale before Kelly’s second restored Denver’s lead at 3-2. Carson Kuhl scored the final goal of the quarter to send the two teams into the second frame tied at 3-3.

Second Quarter:
Joshua Carlson was the first to find the back of the net in the second quarter, scoring 45 seconds into the frame before Yale went on the first run of the day, finishing three in a 2:06 span to make it 6-4 Bulldogs with 11:20 to play before halftime.

Noah Manning got Denver’s first of two goals on the man-up on Sunday to pull Denver within one and then Michael Lampert’s eighth of the season made it 6-6. Johnny Keib got the last goal of the quarter for Yale to give the Bulldogs a 7-6 lead at recess.

Third Quarter:
David Anderson’s third of the day double Yales lead before the Pioneers went on a 4-1 run in a 6:20 span to take its only lead of the second half at 10-9 with 6:28 remaining in the third.

Jack Tortolani started the run with his sixth of the season before Manning’s second of the day knotted the score at 8-8. Hackler made it 9-8 before back-to-back goals from Sillstrop and Manning put Denver ahead.

Yale responded with four-straight, including the final three goals of the third quarter scored 35 seconds apart to make it 12-10 heading into the final frame.

Fourth Quarter:
Keib got on the board first to make it 13-10 Bulldogs before another Pioneer run leveled the score once more at 13-13 with 12:26 to play. Sillstrop scored on the man-up to make it 13-11 Yale before a goal from Daniel Clark and another Carlson strike made it 13-13. Yale’s defense buckled down, down the stretch and the Bulldogs got goals from Matt Brandau and Carson Kuhl to earn the 15-13.

UP NEXT:
Following the recently concluded three-game homestand, the Pioneers will play away from home for each of the next three, starting with a trip to Columbus to take on Ohio State. Faceoff on Sunday, March 17, is set for 10 a.m. MT, and will be broadcast on Big 10 Plus.