DURHAM, N.C. – The [RV/RV] University of Denver men's lacrosse team used a 5-1 third-quarter run and a 3-0 run in the fourth to pull themselves from behind to take a late lead, but Brennan O'Neill scored the game-tying goal in the final 20 seconds and won it on the man-up in overtime to send [13/16] Duke past the Pioneers on Friday evening at Koskinen Stadium.
 
Inside the Box Score:
Noah Manning had his second career hat trick to go with an assist and JJ Sillstrop had his second-straight hatty, all in the second half to lead the Pioneers offense on Friday night.  
 
Malcolm Kleban and Jack Thompson split time in goal on Friday. Kleban made four saves in his first career start in-between the pipes, while Thompson made four more in the second 30 minutes.
 
Alec Stathakis went 14-of-28 from the faceoff strip with eight ground balls, and scored a goal in the loss.
 
First Quarter:
Denver opened the scoring for the third-game in a row, this time a tally from Stephen Avery got Denver on the board on the first possession of the game.
 
Duke scored the last four goals of the opening quarter to take a three-goal lead into the second period.
 
Second Quarter:
Following the expiration of a man-up opportunity for the Pios, Manning scored 43 seconds into the second quarter, his first of three in the period. Brennan O'Neil got his first goal for the Blue Devils just over a minute later before Manning scored back-to-back for Denver to make it 5-4 Duke with 4:48 to go.
 
Denver's defense held Duke without a goal for over 12 minutes, but on their final possession the Blue Devils made it a two-goal game again with Griffin Catlett's tally with 17 seconds to go.
 
Third Quarter:
A wild eight-goal third quarter saw the Pioneers pull even heading into the final 15 minutes in Durham. Colm Barnett got things started in the period off a feed from Manning on the man-up and Sillstrop got a man-up tally just over a minute later to even things up at 6-6.
 
Stathakis got his first goal of the season to answer a Duke man-up tally to make it 7-7 with 10:31 to go in the third. Mic Kelly got on the board to give Denver its first lead since 1-0 and Sillstrop finished a feed in transition from Edinger to give the Pioneers a two-goal advantage with 5:02 to play in the third.
 
Duke got the final two goals of the period, and drew a flag on the last possession of the quarter to start the fourth without a faceoff.
 
Fourth Quarter:
O'Neill converted on the Blue Devils' man-up chance to give Duke the lead back with 14:07 to play in regulation. Andrew McAdorey made it a four-goal Duke run to give the home team an 11-9 advantage with under 10 minutes to go.
 
Then came the Pioneers second comeback of the evening. AJ Mercurio scored right after a Stathakis faceoff win to make it 11-10 Blue Devils. Michael Lampert found the back of the net late in the shot clock to tie things up at 11, and then Richie Connell fed Sillstrop to complete his hat trick and give Denver a 12-11 lead with 3:22 to go.
 
Duke scored on the next possession and then Connell scored his second of the campaign to give the Pios a 13-12 advantage with 2:01 to play.
 
The Blue Devils defense forced a late turnover and then O'Neill buried his 12^th of the year just inside the far post and past the feet of Thompson.
 
Denver was called for a penalty on the following faceoff and O'Neill made the Pioneers pay on the man-up once again, cashing in on the game-winner 22 seconds into the stanza.

Game Notes:

• Denver falls to 11-8 in overtime games under coach T, winning now seven of the last nine and 10 of the last 13.
  • The OT game was Denver's first since 4/28/21 at Villanova (Ethan Walker game-winner).
• Noah Manning finished with his first hat trick of the season and the second of his career (vs. Canisius in 2022).
  • Manning tied a career-high with four points, also against Canisius last year.
• Friday marked the 26^th meeting between the two winningest coaches in Division I lacrosse. The head-to-head series is now 13-13. 
• JJ Sillstrop finished with his second-straight hat trick and the 12^th of his career. The hat trick was his third-straight multi-goal game at Duke.
• Casey Wilson tied his career-high with four ground balls and forced a turnover.

TICKETS: Single game tickets for the 2023 Denver men's lacrosse season are on sale now, and can be purchased here.
 
UP NEXT: Denver will return to Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium next Saturday when the Pioneers host Merrimack. Faceoff is set for 11 a.m. MT, and air on Pioneer Vision and 104.3 The Fan HD3.
 
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