CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Senior attack
Austin French (Danville, Calif.), who missed the first four games of the season due to injury, tied a career-high with six points, including a career-high five assists to lead the [8/8] University of Denver men's lacrosse team past [15/20] North Carolina in the opening of the UNC Lacrosse and Soccer Stadium on Saturday morning.
French's five assists tied him for third in Denver's Division I single-game history in that category. French was also the first Pioneer to record five assists since junior
Ethan Walker (Peterborough, Ontario) did it at Providence in 2017.
Walker led the Pioneers with 100 goals in just his 39
th career game to become the fastest in Denver's DI history to that milestone. A year ago, Walker became the fastest to 100 career points, doing so in 23 career games.
| Name |
Years |
Games to 100 |
CarGls |
CarGms |
| Ethan Walker |
2017-pres. |
39 |
100 |
39 |
| Connor Cannizzaro* |
2014-17 |
43 |
171 |
69 |
| Mark Matthews |
2009-12 |
44 |
155 |
65 |
| Wesley Berg |
2012-15 |
45 |
188 |
73 |
| Matt Brown |
2002-05 |
50 |
113 |
56 |
| Erik Adamson |
2012-15 |
61 |
111 |
67 |
| Cam Flint |
2010-13 |
63 |
103 |
65 |
*Includes Freshman Year at Maryland
Senior
Alex Ready (Lancaster, Pa.) made 11 saves, including three in both the third and the fourth quarter for the 15
th double digit save performance of his career, and the second in three games. Staying on the defensive side, senior
Dylan Johnson (Englewood, Colo.) led the team with three caused turnovers. Walker and freshman
Brett Boos (Parker, Colo.) led the Pioneers with five ground balls apiece. Boos finished 9-for-26 at the dot, but a six-of-nine third quarter helped turn the tide.
Sophomore
Jack Hannah (Milford, Ohio), senior
Colton Jackson (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) and sophomore
Ted Sullivan (Tucson, Ariz.) gave the Denver first midfield six, split two each. Hannah and Jackson also added an assist for three-point days.
Justin Anderson got North Carolina on the board 43 seconds in, but Denver responded with a 3-0 run in in the next 4:58 with goals from French, Walker and Hannah. French also had an assist in the three-goal run in his season debut.
North Carolina ended the half on a 5-1 run with goals from Jack Rowlett, Nicky Solomon, William Perry, Anderson's second of the game and the first of the day from Brian Cameron. Walker scored his 11
th of the season on a feed from French for Denver's only goal of the second quarter, and the Pioneers headed into halftime trailing 6-4.
Denver responded by outscoring North Carolina 5-3 in the third quarter to tie the score at 9-9 heading into the final 15 minutes. Sullivan scored two goals in the first 2:34 of the second half, his fourth and fifth of the season to knot the score at 6-6. Perry scored for Carolina to put the Heels back up, but Walker's 100
th career goal, and his third of the day from French tied it back up at 7-7. Walker's hat trick was the 21
st of his career.
Solomon took it back in the home team's favor before freshman
Ellis Geis (Tustin, Calif.) netted his 11
th of the year to tie it and Hannah's second of the day gave Denver its first lead since 1:18 remaining in the first quarter. Perry tied it back up at 9-9 with 2:19 to go in the third, and that's the score the two teams entered the fourth at.
Jackson scored back-to-back goals in the first 4:12 of the fourth quarter and Walker's 13
th of the season and fourth of the morning gave Denver a three-goal lead with 7:10 to go in regulation. Perry pulled North Carolina back to within two with 4:36 to go, but Denver's defense earned a couple stops down the stretch to secure the two-goal victory.
Senior
Dylan Gaines (Baltimore, Md.) and sophomore
Colin Squires (West Linn, Ore.) added four ground balls in the defensive effort. Junior SSDM
Danny Logan (Upper Arlington, Ohio) and redshirt-senior LSM
Matt Neufeldt (Naperville, Ill.) added three grounders in the win.
UP NEXT: The Denver men's lacrosse team,
Presented by Your Hometown Toyota Stores, will switch coasts and the a.m./p.m. to the faceoff time next weekend as the Pioneers make a rare trip west to take on Notre Dame in Costa Mesa, Calif., on Saturday at 7 p.m. PT/8 p.m. MT. Denver and Notre Dame will play in the Pacific Coast Shootout for the second time. The Pioneers won the first match-up 10-7 in 2014.
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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