DENVER – The [8/9] University of Denver men's lacrosse team defeated NCAA Men's Lacrosse newcomers Utah 15-6 to open up the Pioneers' Faceoff Classic on Saturday afternoon at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium.
 
Freshman Brett Boos (Parker, Colo.) won his first 15 faceoffs and finished 20-of-23 in his third career game, picking up 10 ground balls for the first time in his career. Senior Alex Ready (Lancaster, Pa.) played the first three quarters in net for the Pioneers, stopping 10-of-14 shots, including six saves in the first quarter.
 
Denver had three different players record hat tricks in the same game for the 20^th time since the start of the 2014 season. Junior Ethan Walker (Peterborough, Ontario) had a game-high five points on three goals and two assists. Freshman Ellis Geis (Tustin, Calif.) made it two hat tricks in two home games with three-straight Pioneer goals, capping off his hat trick 17:26 into the contest. Freshman Drew Erickson (Danville, Calif.) added his first three career goals in the final nine minutes of the win to round out the hat trick trio.
 
The Pioneers had three additional players record three points on the day. Freshman Alex Simmons (Smithville, Ontario) had two goals and a helper, sophomore Riley Curtis (Brampton, Ontario) added a goal and two assists and sophomore Jack Hannah (Milford, Ohio) tallied three assists to lead the Pioneers in that category.
 
Denver had nine different players combine for 10 caused turnovers with senior Brett Greenlee (Newport Beach, Calif.) leading the way with two.
 
Walker opened a 4-2 first quarter with his second of the campaign off a feed from senior Colton Jackson (Highlands Ranch, Colo.). Simmons first of two in the first half came 45 seconds later to give the Pioneers a 2-0 edge. Geis quickly answered a Utah goal with his sixth of the campaign to make it 3-1, and then had the answer for Utah's second goal of the day 11 seconds after the NCAA's leading scorer Josh Stout scored to make it 3-2. Ready made six saves in the opening 15 minutes of play.
 
Geis' second goal of the day started a 6-1 run for the Pioneers to extend the halftime lead to 9-3. Geis completed his second hat trick in two games at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium in 17:26 to make it 5-2, followed by goals from Jackson, Simmons, Walker and senior Colin Rutan (Walnut Creek, Calif.). In addition to Ready's seven saves, Boos went a perfect 14-of-14 from the faceoff dot in the first 30 minutes.
 
Stout scored his 17^th of the year to open the third quarter for the Utes before Denver went on another 6-1 run from the 2:56 mark in the third to the 1:22 mark in the fourth. Walker completed his hat trick with 2:56 to go in the third and then junior SSDM Danny Logan (Upper Arlington, Ohio) netted his second goal in as many games to make it 11-4.
 
Denver's second unit got a lift in the fourth quarter from Erickson who scored three goals in a span of 6:56 to stretch the lead to 14-5. Curtis capped off the Denver scoring with 1:22 to play to make it 15-5 before Branden Wilson added his third of the season for Utah in the closing seconds.
 
UP NEXT: The Denver men's lacrosse team, Presented by Your Hometown Toyota Stores, will wrap-up the Faceoff Classic on Sunday as the Pioneers take on Cleveland State at 1:30 p.m. MT at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium. The game will be broadcast live on Pioneer Vision and ESPN Denver 1600. Sunday's men's game will follow the DU women's game against Stony Brook (10 a.m. MT).  
 
TICKET INFORMATION: Single game tickets for the remaining home games are on sale, and can be purchased here.

Fans interested in making a donation to the men's lacrosse program can do so by clicking here. Your contribution will make a direct impact on the success of YOUR Pioneers. Thank you in advance for your unwavering support of our student-athletes and their quest for excellence.
 
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