MILWAUKEE, Wis. – The [9/10] University of Denver men's lacrosse team used a 6-0 run in the first half to defeat Marquette 10-9 under a weather-proof bubble Saturday afternoon at Valley Fields.
 
Turning Point:
Alex Simmons scored four of Denver's six goals in a run that lasted from 10:03 in the first quarter to 9:23 in the second quarter, a run that gave Denver the lead for good.  
 
Inside the Box Score:
Simmons led the Pioneers with his first career hat trick, scoring all four of his goals in the first half, including three in the first quarter. Jackson Morrill had two goals and a helper, Ethan Walker had three assists to set Denver's new career record and Riley Curtis had three points on a goal and two assists to round out Denver's multi-point getters.
 
Morrill's first goal of the second half extended his national-leading point streak to 61 games. The Yale transfer has 116 goals and 113 assists in those 61 games.
 
Alec Stathakis won 13-of-22 faceoffs from the dot, picking up three ground balls. Danny Logan picked up a season-high six ground balls and Malik Sparrow forced a career-best three caused turnovers for the Pioneers.
 
In goal, Jack Thompson reached double-digit saves for the third time this season and for the fifth time in his still young career.
 
First Quarter:
Marquette opened the scoring with 11:06 to go in the first quarter, but the Pioneers responded with a six-goal run, including three goals from Simmons to close out the first quarter scoring. Walker tied the career assists record on the final goal of the quarter, with 20 seconds left on the clock.
 
Second Quarter:
Denver earned the first three goals of the second quarter. Ted Sullivan gave Denver its first goal by someone other than Simmons to make it 4-1. Simmons scored unassisted to make it 5-1, and Zach Hutchko finished off a feed from Walker to give Denver its sixth-straight.
 
Marquette closed out the half with the final two goals, scoring with 7:31 and 5:46 to play before the intermission.
 
The Pioneers outshot Marquette 29-12 in the opening 30 minutes of play, including 14-6 on goal. Sean Richard made eight saves for the Golden Eagles in the first half.
 
Third Quarter:
Denver scored the first two goals of the third quarter, tallies from Morrill on the man-up and Hannah. After a Marquette goal, Denver scored multiple man-up goals for the first time this year as Morrill found Curtis on the back-pipe to make it 9-4.
 
Marquette got the final two goals in the quarter to make it 9-6 at the final quarter break of the afternoon.
 
Fourth Quarter:
Jack Hannah and Curtis combined to feed Morrill just outside the crease to open the scoring in the fourth quarter to push Denver's lead back to four.
 
Marquette scored the final three goals of the contest and held Denver scoreless in the final 14:05 of the game. The Golden Eagles' final goal in the run came from Devon Cowan with 2.8 seconds to go.
 
Significant Stats:
Denver outshot Marquette 49-37.
 
Up Next: The University of Denver men's lacrosse team, presented by Your Front Range Toyota Stores, will return home next Saturday to host Providence. Faceoff is set for 12 p.m. MT, and the game will be broadcast live on Pioneer Vision and on 104.3 The Fan.  
 
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For the latest University of Denver updates on the coronavirus, click here.
 
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