DURHAM, N.C. – The [11/12] University of Denver men's lacrosse team dropped its first game of the season, falling to [7/8] Duke 19-10 on Saturday afternoon at Koskinen Stadium.

Inside the Box Score:
JJ Sillstrop led the Pioneers with six points on five goals and an assist. Johnny Marrocco added four points from the Denver attack on two goals and two assists.
 
First Quarter:
Duke got on the board first, 2:30 into the game on its first true possession of the contest. Marrocco got his first of two goals in the quarter to even things back at 1-1 with 11:38 to go. Back-to-back Duke tallies gave the Blue Devils their first multi-goal lead of the game.
 
Denver responded with a 4-0 run, a stretch that started with Marrocco's second of the game and included Riley Curtis' third of the season and back-to-back goals 23 seconds apart from Sillstrop.
 
Duke ended the quarter with back-to-back goals to even things up at 5-5 at the end of the first.
 
Jack Thompson made five saves against five goals allowed in the first 15 minutes.
 
Second Quarter:
Duke scored four of the five goals in the second quarter to stretch its run to six out of seven goals and take a 9-6 lead into the locker room.
 
Alex Simmons had Denver's loan goal of the quarter off a feed from Marrocco.


Third Quarter:
Three-straight goals from Duke in the first two and a half minutes of the third doubled the Blue Devils lead early in the second half to make it 12-6 Duke.
 
The Blue Devils made it a 4-0 run in the quarter before Sillstrop completed his hat trick for Denver's first goal in 21:10. Sillstrop's fourth came 32 seconds later to cut the Duke lead to five at 13-8 with 5:52 to play.
 
Duke scored in the closing seconds of the quarter to take a 14-8 lead into the fourth.

Fourth Quarter:
Five straight goals from the Blue Devils in the first five minutes of the fourth pushed the Duke lead to 11 with 10:28 to go in regulation, a run stopped by Sillstrop's second back-hander of the day on the man-up to make it 19-9 Duke. Michael Lampert's netted his second career goal to send the game to its final score of 19-10.
 
What's Next
The University of Denver men's lacrosse team, Presented By Your Hometown Toyota Stores, will have a two-game home weekend next weekend, starting when the Pioneers host [RV/15] Jacksonville Saturday at 12 p.m. MT. The Pioneers will then host Canisius on Sunday at 11 a.m. MT. Saturday's game will be broadcast live on Altitude TV and ESPN Denver 1600.
 
For the latest University of Denver updates on the coronavirus, click here.
 
TICKETS:
Season tickets for the 2022 Denver men's lacrosse season are on sale now, and can be purchased 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!
 
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