No. 9 Denver Defeats Vanderbilt 11-6

Sunday, February 12

Nashville, Tenn.

11 A.M. MT

University of Denver

2-0

Vanderbilt

1-1

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Denver	4	3	2	2	11
Vanderbilt	1	2	0	3	6

2/12/2023 1:07:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse

Box Score

Pioneers complete perfect opening weekend with five-goal win

By: Niko Blankenship

NASHVILLE – The No. 9 University of Denver women's lacrosse program completed a perfect opening weekend, defeating Vanderbilt 11-6 on Sunday afternoon at the VU Lacrosse Complex.

Sophia LaBanca led the Pioneers with five points on a hat trick and two assists. Ryan Dineen also had five points on two goals and three helpers. Mollie Estepp, Ellie Curry and Lauren Black all finished with two goals.

Abby Jenkins led the Pioneers in the draw circle with eight. Sam Thacker chipped in five more draws, a category Denver won 14-8. Emelia Bohi made seven saves in cage and Bryn McCaughey led a Denver defense that held Vanderbilt to 15 shots and just 12 on goal with a team-high four caused turnovers.

Vandy's Nancy Halleron opened the scoring with 12:15 to go in the opening quarter. Denver's defense then held Vanderbilt without a goal over the next 21:51, a span that saw the Pioneers go on a 7-0 run to take a six-goal first half advantage.

LaBanca and Estepp exchanged assists on each other's goals to make it 2-1 Denver with 10:16 to play in the first. Back-to-back free-position tallies from Estepp and Dineen wrapped up the first quarter scoring to send Denver into the first break up 4-1. The Pioneers outshot Vanderbilt 11-3 and won five of the six draws in the opening frame.

Denver's run continued in the second. Dineen hit Curry in-stride for her second goal of the season to make it 5-1, Black got her third to make it 6-1 and Julia Gilbert finished LaBanca's second assist of the afternoon to push Denver's lead to 7-1 with 9:15 to go in the first half. Back-to-back Vanderbilt goals made it 7-3, but Bohi made two saves on a defensive possession that saw the Pioneers play two-women down for nearly two minutes to send Denver into the halftime break with more momentum and preserve the four-goal lead.

The Pioneers defense showed why its one of the nation's best in the third quarter, holding Vanderbilt to zero shots in the 15-minute period. Second goals of the day for Curry and LaBanca restored Denver's six-goal advantage heading into the fourth.

Vanderbilt had its second two-goal run of the afternoon to open up the fourth quarter, but a big save from Bohi and a free-position strike from Black made it 10-5 Pios with 6:43 to play. Trinity McPherson created the opportunity for Denver's 11^th goal of the afternoon, sprinting nearly three-quarters of the field before finding Dineen, who finished her second of the day. Kemper Robinson capped the scoring for Vandy to make it 11-6 with 2:45 to play.

UP NEXT: The Pioneers will continue a four-game road swing next Saturday with the short bus trip to Colorado. Opening draw is set for 1 p.m. MT.

SCORING SUMMARY
First Quarter
12:15 VU (0-1) – Nancy Halleron, unassisted
11:01 DU (1-1) – Sophia LaBanca, assisted by Mollie Estepp
10:16 DU (2-1) – Mollie Estepp, assisted by Sophia LaBanca
5:57 DU (3-1) – Mollie Estepp (FPS/UP)
1:19 DU (4-1) – Ryan Dineen (FPS)

Second Quarter
10:41 DU (5-1) – Ellie Curry, assisted by Ryan Dineen
10:26 DU (6-1) – Lauren Black, unassisted
9:15 DU (7-1) – Julia Gilbert, assisted by Sophia LaBanca
5:24 VU (7-2) – Lila Huddles (FPS)
3:40 VU (7-3) – Molly Finlay

Third Quarter
10:20 DU (8-3) – Ellie Curry, assisted by Ryan Dineen
7:35 DU (9-3) – Sophia LaBanca, assisted by Kayla DeRose

Fourth Quarter
11:27 VU (9-4) – Molly Finlay, unassisted
8:20 VU (9-5) – Kayla Rieu, assisted by Kemper Robinson
6:43 DU (10-5) – Lauren Black (FPS)
4:07 DU (11-5) – Ryan Dineen, unassisted
2:45 VU (11-6) – Kemper Robinson (FPS)

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