VILLANOVA, Pa. – Freshman Lauren Black recorded her first career sock trick and the No. 9-ranked Denver Pioneers women's lacrosse team earned its third straight Big East Regular Season Championship on Saturday afternoon with a 16-8 victory over the Villanova Wildcats.
 
The win secured the Pioneers at least a share of the conference regular season title, as they have now won the trophy in each of the last three full seasons: 2019, 2021 and 2022. Saturday's victory also extended Denver's season-long winning streak to eight games, and the squad improved to 4-0 in Big East play and 14-1 overall on the season.
 
Denver closes the regular season this week with a pair of home games at Peter Barton Stadium, beginning with a matchup against in-state rival Colorado on Wednesday at 7 p.m. MT. The team can secure the No. 1 overall seed in the conference tournament next Saturday when it squares off against Marquette on senior day at 1 p.m. MT.
 
DU is hosting this year's Big East Tournament Championship at Peter Barton Stadium on May 5-7. The four teams that will participate have now been decided with Connecticut (13-2, 3-1 BE), Georgetown (7-7, 2-1 BE) and Marquette (7-8, 2-1 BE) set to join the Pioneers.
 
Black recorded four of her career-high six goals in the second half on Saturday, tallying her fifth marker with 1:16 remaining in the fourth quarter and registering the sock trick with 29 seconds left in regulation. She also added an assist, recorded two ground balls and had a game-high 10 shots.
 
It was Black's sixth game this year where she scored at least a hat trick, as she surpassed her previous career high of four goals that was accomplished in back-to-back outings on March 25 at San Diego State and April 2 at Butler.
 
Fellow attack Julia Gilbert added a hat trick as well with three goals and three assists on the day, and Bea Behrins recorded four points with two tallies and two helpers. Behrins now has 51 goals on the season, tying her career high that she set last year. Her 67 points (51g/16a) are one shy of matching her personal best of 68 (51g/17a) that she produced in 2021.
 
Midfielders Ellie Curry (1g/3a) and Mollie Estepp (2g/0a) also picked up multiple points, while Charlotte Boote and Raegan Wilson also found the back of the net on shots. Freshman goalkeeper Emelia Bohi made seven-of-15 saves in the victory.
 
Villanova was led offensively with three goals from Caroline Curnal and two markers apiece by Olivia Piccirilli and Sydney Pappas.
 
DU had a 36-22 edge in total shots and led 26-15 in shots on goal in the game
 
The game opened with a tight first quarter as the Wildcats tallied twice, including opening the day's scoring, but the Pioneers answered back each time. Tied 2-2 after the initial 15 minutes, the offenses for both squads started to heat up in the second frame.
 
Villanova quickly responded to knot the contest following each of Denver's first three goals of the second quarter, but the Pios took a 6-5 advantage into the locker room at halftime as Estepp found twine with 2:44 left. Estepp's first marker gave Denver a lead that it didn't relinquish and began an 8-0 run.
 
The Pioneers outscored the Wildcats 7-0 in the third quarter, including tallying four goals in the final 1:11 and three in the final 37 seconds of the stanza. Behrins scored back-to-back markers at 1:11 and 0:37, Black hit twine with nine seconds remaining and Gilbert one-timed a loose ball near the crease just before time expired following junior Sam Thacker's draw control win.
 
Villanova had three goals to begin the fourth quarter, but DU finished the frame with three of their own, with Gilbert contributing on each of them with a tally and helpers on Black's two scores.
 
Denver had another strong defensive game, earning 19-of-27 draw controls, picking up 19 ground balls and causing 10 turnovers. Thacker, a 2022 Tewaaraton Award nominee as the best female college lacrosse player in the nation, had five draw controls, four caused turnovers and three ground balls, and senior Kailee Lammers produced six draw controls, four caused turnover and three ground balls.
 
 
SCORING SUMMARY
1st Quarter
8:48 VU (0-1) – Sydney Pappas (1), free position shot
5:02 DU (1-1) – Lauren Black (1), assist by Ellie Curry
4:27 VU (1-2) – Olivia Piccirilli (1)
0:22 DU (2-2) – Julia Gilbert (1), free position shot (UP)
 
2nd Quarter
11:51 DU (3-2) – Lauren Black (2)
11:10 VU (3-3) – Sydney Pappas (2)
10:33 DU (4-3) – Raegan Wilson (1), assist by Lauren Black
9:40 VU (4-4) – Caroline Curnal (1), assist by Megan Reilly
7:37 DU (5-4) – Ellie Curry (1)
6:48 VU (5-5) – Olivia Piccirilli (1)
2:44 DU (6-5) – Mollie Estepp (1)
 
3rd Quarter
12:08 DU (7-5) – Charlotte Boote (1)
8:34 DU (8-5) – Mollie Estepp (2), assist by Bea Behrins
6:22 DU (9-5) – Lauren Black (3)
1:11 DU (10-5) – Bea Behrins (1), assist by Julia Gilbert
0:37 DU (11-5) – Bea Behrins (2), assist by Ellie Curry
0:09 DU (12-5) – Lauren Black (4), assist by Bea Behrins
0:01 DU (13-5) – Julia Gilbert (2)
 
4th Quarter
8:57 VU (13-6) – Caroline Curnal (2)
5:52 VU (13-7) – Caroline Curnal (3)
1:55 VU (13-8) – Jessie Lee (1), Libby McKenna
1:29 DU (14-8) – Julia Gilbert (3), assist by Ellie Curry
1:16 DU (15-8) – Lauren Black (5), assist by Julia Gilbert
0:29 DU (16-8) – Lauren Black (6), assist by Julia Gilbert
 

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