PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The [7/7] University of Denver men's lacrosse team got five goals in the first and three apiece in the final three quarters to pull away from Providence 14-5 on Thursday night at Chapey Field at Anderson Stadium.
Inside the Box Score:
Ethan Walker and
Jackson Morrill finished with seven points apiece to tie for the second-most points in a conference tournament game in Denver's Division I history, one point behind
Connor Cannizzaro's eight-point night in the 2015 BIG EAST Final. Walker finished with four goals and three assists, while Morrill finished with three goals and four assists.
Alex Simmons and
Sam Dwinell rounded out Denver's multi-goal scorers with two apiece.
Jack Thompson had another impressive day in net for Denver, stopping 11 shots against just four goals allowed.
Danny Logan had two caused turnovers to lead Denver's defense.
First Quarter:
Denver opened the game with seven-straight and nine of the first 10, spilling over into the second half. In the opening quarter, Morrill got Denver on the board with his 26
th of the season. Walker, Dwinell, Morrill and Simmons rounded out the first quarter scoring, a three-point quarter for Walker who added two assists in the opening 15 minutes.
Second Quarter:
Walker's 33
rd of the year on a feed from Morrill made it 7-0 before Nick Shaw was the first to beat Thompson, scoring with 3:21 remaining in the second quarter. Dwinell rounded out the first half scoring with his second of the day and the Pioneers took an 8-1 lead into the locker room.
Third Quarter:
Denver and Providence split the six goals in the third quarter three apiece.
AJ Mercurio found the back of the net with the long stick in transition, Simmons scored his 30
th goal of the year and Morrill's 28
th made it 11-4 with 15 minutes left to play in Rhode Island.
Fourth Quarter:
Walker scored the first two goals of the fourth quarter and
Zach Hutchko scored for the third time in 2021 with 4:48 to go to round out Denver's scoring output in the semifinal.
Significant Stats:
- Morrill and Walker both finished with seven points, tied for second in Denver's conference tournament history with Connor Cannizzaro's 2015 BIG EAST Semifinal and Wes Berg's 2014 BIG EAST Semifinal.
- Walker's four goals tied for third in Denver's conference tournament history
- Morrill's four assists sits third in Denver's conference tournament history.
- Denver's 14 goals tied for fifth in DU's conference tournament history
- The Pioneers 10 assists tied for third in Denver's conference tournament history
- Denver's 51 shots was a new DI conference tournament record in program history
- Thompson's 11 saves were the third most in a conference tournament game in program history.
What's Next
The University of Denver men's lacrosse program,
presented by Your Front Range Toyota Stores will play in the 2021 BIG EAST Men's Lacrosse Final, presented by Jeep, against the winner of [11/12] Villanova and [8/8] Georgetown Saturday at 1 p.m. MT. The game will be broadcast live on CBS Sports Network and 104.3 The Fan.
For the latest University of Denver updates on the coronavirus, click here.
DONATE:
Fans interested in making a donation to the Pioneers Athletic Fund can do so by clicking here. Your gift will transform the lives of our student-athletes by giving them the first-class resources needed to excel in the classroom, in competition and beyond. Thank you for Building Pioneers for Life!
- 5280 Together –
Visit DenverPioneers.com for complete coverage of all 17 of DU's NCAA Division I sports.
Like Denver Pioneers and DU Men's Lacrosse on Facebook
Follow @DU_Pioneers and @DU_MLAX on Twitter
Follow @denverpioneers and @denvermlax on Instagram
