DENVER  – The [6/5] University of Denver men's lacrosse team scored double digits in a quarter for the first time since 2011, using a 10-goal third quarter to pull away from [16/20] Villanova 17-10 on Saturday afternoon at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium.
 
Inside the Box Score:
Nine different Pioneers scored on the afternoon, including three hat tricks and five multi-goal games. Jack Hannah completed his 10^th career hat trick and his sixth this season. Jackson Morrill finished with his 20^th career hat trick and his fifth of the 2021 campaign. Lucas Cotler capped the hat trick trios with four points on three goals and a helper.
 
Earning his third start of the season, JJ Sillstrop finished with three points on two goals and an assist. Ted Sullivan also had a three-point afternoon on two goals and an assist.
 
On the defensive side of the ball, Jack Thompson was impressive in cage for the Pioneers, finishing with 12 saves to nine goals allowed. The double-digit save performance was the fifth of his season and the seventh of his career. Jack DiBenedetto led the team with four caused turnovers, while captain Colin Squires added two CTS and picked up five grounders.
 
Denver started slow at the faceoff dot, but the faceoffs were key to the Denver offensive spurt in the third quarter. Alec Stathakis led the way with a 10-of-16 afternoon with nine ground balls, while TD Ierlan went 8-for-14 from the dot with five grounders.
 
First Quarter:
The two teams traded body blows in the first 30 minutes, with Denver ultimately taking a 6-5 lead into the intermission.
 
Villanova scored from 70-yards on the 10-man ride to take the early lead, but Sullivan answered with his first of two on the day, and Zach Hutchko spun his defender around behind the cage to give Denver the 2-1 lead after the first quarter.
 
 Second Quarter:
The second quarter featured a little more offense, but the same back-and-forth nature, as the two teams split the eight goals in the quarter four apiece.
 
Sillstrop pushed Denver ahead 3-2 with 10:11 to go and Hannah scored three goals in a 3-1 run to give Denver its first two goal lead of the day at 6-4 with 2:01 to play before recess.
 
Third Quarter:
The flood gates opened in the third for the Pioneers, as they outscored the visitors 10-3 in the stanza. Sullivan's second and Morrill's first of the day made it 8-5 with 10:35 to go. Two Patrick Daly goals for Villanova sandwiched around Morrill's second tally of the day made it 9-7 Denver with 8:08 to go.
 
Denver ended the quarter on a 7-1 run that included a 5-0 spirt in 1:57. Stathakis scored off the faceoff seven seconds after Daly's goal, and Sillstrop's hat trick goal made it 11-7. Eric Overbay scored for the Cats to cut it to 11-8 before Denver's scoring surge. Morrill completed his hat trick with 4:10 to go, followed by Kyle Smith's tally 10 seconds later. Just 46 seconds after Smith's goal, Cotler found twine to make it 14-8. Alex Simmons got on the scoresheet 22 seconds after that, and Cotler's second of the quarter ended the spurt with 2:13 to play.
 
Fourth Quarter:
Cotler's hat trick goal capped what was an 11-3 run in the first 15:57 of the second half. Villanova added two more to close out the game and draw within seven at 17-10.  
 
Significant Stats:

• Ethan Walker was unavailable for Saturday's game, breaking a streak of 65-consecutive starts for the Peterborough, Ontario, native.
• Jackson Morrill stretched his point streak to 67 games, ranking first nationally in the active streak.
• Denver's 10-goal third quarter was its highest-scoring quarter since an 11 goal quarter against Jacksonville on March 5, 2011.
• The Pioneers had three players finish with hat tricks, the 26^th time Denver has had that since the start of the 2014 season (fourth this season).
• 5+ different multiple goal scorers for the third time this season and the 19^th time since the start of the 2014 season.

 
Up Next: The University of Denver men's lacrosse team, presented by Your Front Range Toyota Stores, will head to Georgetown next weekend for a 10 a.m. MT faceoff. The game will be broadcast nationally on Fox Sports 2, and will be on the radio locally on ESPN Denver 1600.
 
For the latest University of Denver updates on the coronavirus, click here.
 
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