SALT LAKE CITY – The [12/12] University of Denver men's lacrosse team got four goals apiece from
Ted Sullivan and
JJ Sillstrop to take the Pioneers past Utah 14-13 in both teams' season openers on Saturday at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
Inside the Box Score:
Sullivan finished with six points on four goals and two assists and Sillstrop had five on four and a helper.
Riley Curtis had a four-point day with two goals and two assists and
Alex Simmons got a couple goals in the second half to round out Denver's multi-goal scorers.
Malik Sparrow had six ground balls and a caused turnover in the win and in his first start in the Crimson and Gold,
Matthew Marino picked up five grounders from his short stick position.
Alec Stathakis went 18-of-31 from the faceoff dot with eight ground balls.
Goaltender
Cole French made 12 saves against 13 goals allowed in his first start in cage since Denver's home game against Duke in February of 2020.
First Quarter:
Sillstrop opened the scoring with 12:40 to go in the quarter, finishing a feed from Sullivan to kick-start Denver's 14-goal afternoon.
Utah's Jordan Hyde got back-to-back goals 25 seconds apart to put the Utes ahead, but a highlight-reel goal behind his head from Sillstrop evened the score back at 2-2.
Graduate student
Jack Hannah closed out the first quarter scoring with his 71
st career goal to put the Pioneers ahead after 15 minutes of play in Salt Lake,
Second Quarter:
Utah tied things back up at three less than a minute into the quarter, but back-to-back goals from Sullivan down the right alley gave the Pioneers their largest lead of the day at two goals with 13:14 to go in the opening half.
Curtis got his first of two goals with 7:39 to go to answer a Utah tally and make it 6-4. Back-to-back goals from Utah tied the game at 6-6 with 3:47 to go.
The Pioneers ended another quarter strong with back-to-back goals.
Joshua Carlson scored the first goal of his career on the man-up to give Denver the advantage back and then Sillstrop converted a Curtis feed to complete his first-half hat trick and send the Pioneers into the locker room with an 8-6 advantage.
Third Quarter:
Utah came out of the locker room on fire, scoring the first four goals of the quarter to give the home team a 10-8 lead with 4:42 to go.
Curtis buried his second of the afternoon to stop the run and start a four-goal run of the Pioneers own that stretched into the start of the fourth quarter.
Sullivan's hat trick goal and Sillstrop's fourth made it 11-10, giving the Pioneers three goals in a 90 second span as Denver took a one-goal lead into the final 15 minutes.
Fourth Quarter:
Simmons went behind the back to start the fourth and cap the 4-0 Denver run and restore a two-goal advantage at 13-11 with 9:41 to play.
Hyde and Sullivan's fourth goals of the day apiece canceled each other out and Denver carried a 14-12 lead into the final seven minutes.
Utah cut the lead in half with 1:24 to go. The Utes got the faceoff, but the Pioneers defense was able to stand strong in the final minute to return to the Mile High City with a 14-13 win in the season opener.
Notes:
- Denver improved to 17-7 in season openers, and 10-0 in the last 10 seasons.
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Alex Simmons extended his point streak to 23 games
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Jack Hannah extended his point streak to 16 games and his goal streak to 16
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Ted Sullivan tied a career-high with four goals, matching his output at Providence on April 6, 2018.
What's Next
The University of Denver men's lacrosse program, presented by Your Front Range Toyota Stores will open its 2022 home slate next Saturday when the Pioneers welcome Air Force to Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium. Faceoff is set for 12 p.m. MT and will be broadcast on Pioneer Vision 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.
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