Pioneers Win 9-8 Thriller Over Brown

Box Score

DENVER – University of Denver women's lacrosse senior Meredith Harris (Middleburg, Va.) had four points on two assists and two goals, including the game-winner, leading the Pioneers to a 9-8 victory over Brown on Monday afternoon.

Sophomore Rachael McKinnon (Brooklin, Ontario, Canada) scored four goals, and senior Jenn Etzel (Bel Air, Md.) added a goal and an assist for the Pioneers (7-1, 2-0 MPSF), while redshirt junior goalkeeper Hannah Hook (Arnold, Md.) made 10 saves, including one with 45 seconds left that allowed the Pioneers to run out the clock.

“I thought we did a lot of things well, but it was not a 60-minute game for us,” head coach Liza Kelly said. “The draw controls, in particular: we went 0-11 in the second half. That’s something we need to improve upon. But McKinnon had four goals, that Harris and Etzel combo for the goal, and Hannah had a huge save for us at the end, I think our seniors really stepped up and won us the game. But we are a better team than we showed today.”

Denver jumped to an early 2-0 lead just 1:38 into the game, as McKinnon scored 33 seconds after Etzel.

Brown (7-1) tied the game at 2-2 with 14:52, but the Pioneers finished off the half with a goal by Harris and free position goals from junior Kiki Boone (Cherry Hills Village, Colo.) and McKinnon, giving DU a 5-2 at halftime.

The Bears fought back in the second half with four goals, separated only by a free position goal by junior Rachael Dillon (Mount Sinai, N.Y.), as Brown tied it again at 6-6 with 17:46 remaining.

After McKinnon scored her hat trick goal, Brown scored twice to take its first lead of the game at 8-7 with 7:48 on the clock.

McKinnon tied the game with her fourth goal off a feed from Harris with 6:31 remaining, and Harris buried the game-winner off a pass from Etzel with just 1:29 left.

The Pioneers held a 13-7 advantage in ground balls, and Brown won the draw control battle 14-5.

Denver next hosts George Washington on Friday at 7 p.m. MT, followed by a meeting against Saint Mary’s on Sunday at 1 p.m. MT.

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