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08 APR 2023: The Denver Pioneers men’s lacrosse team takes on Villanova at the Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium held at the University of Denver campus in Denver, CO. (C. Morgan Engel/ Clarkson Creative Photography)
C. Morgan Engel/ Clarkson Creative Photography
6
Villanova VU 8-3, 1-1 BIG EAST
12
Winner Denver DEN 5-4, 1-1 BIG EAST
Villanova VU
8-3, 1-1 BIG EAST
6
Final
12
Denver DEN
5-4, 1-1 BIG EAST
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Villanova VU 2 0 1 3 6
Denver DEN 2 3 5 2 12

Game Recap: Men's Lacrosse | | Niko Blankenship

[17/19] Denver Knocks Off [9/11] Villanova on Bill Tierney Day

In celebration of the 39-year head coach, Denver’s defense stood tall in 12-6 win over 9th-ranked Villanova

DENVER – The [17/19] University of Denver men's lacrosse team held [9/11] Villanova without a goal over 30 minutes in the middle of the game, a fitting way to celebrate Bill Tierney Day, a 12-6 win for the Pioneers on Saturday at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium.
 
Inside the Box Score:
Richie Connell, Casey Wilson and Joshua Carlson all tallied multiple goals in the win for the Pioneers. Alec Stathakis finished 11-for-21 with eight ground balls and Malcolm Kleban made 10 saves in 53 minutes, while giving up just four goals to earn the victory in-between the pipes.
 
Denver's defense was on lock down, holding Villanova without a goal in-between its second at 4:52 of the first quarter and its third of the day at 3:44 in the third quarter. Jack DiBenedetto drew the top defensive assignment and earned a season-high three caused turnovers to lead the Denver defense.
 
First Quarter:
Villanova opened the scoring, becoming just the second team all year to score first on the Pioneers. Michael Lampert responded with a goal a little over five minutes later, cutting across the crease to level the score.
 
The Wildcats' retook the lead at 2-1 before Denver went on a 9-0 and 10-1 run to take a commanding 10-2 lead with 4:10 to go in the third. Richie Connell bullied his way to the top side to round out the first-quarter scoring and tie the game at 2-2 through 15 minutes.
 
Second Quarter:
After his seven-goal performance in his last appearance at Peter Barton, Stephen Avery gave Denver its first lead at 3-2 with 11:30 to go. Ty Hussey scored off the 10-man ride to make it 4-2 and then after Villanova had the first of four (two each team) goals wiped out for landing in the goal mouth, Connell found Wilson in transition to give Denver a lift heading into the locker room, scoring with four seconds left to make it 5-2.
 
Third Quarter:
Noah Manning found twine and then Connell's second off a feed from Avery made it 7-2 with 10:09 to play. Carlson scored his first of the afternoon on the man-up to extend the lead to 8-2 and then JJ Sillstrop got himself on the scoresheet to make the advantage 9-2.
 
Wilson got his second transition goal, picking up a groundball after a Villanova attackman rattled the bar before taking it coast to coast and finishing off his fifth goal of the season with 4:10 to go in the frame.
 
Villanova's scoring drought came to an end with 3:44 to go in the third to round out the scoring in the frame, but Denver still maintained a 10-3 lead heading into the final 15 minutes.
 
Fourth Quarter:
Carlson's second got Denver the first goal of the fourth to limit Villanova's attempt at a late run. Ryan Giles got Denver's 12th and final goal of the day, his third in his last two games at Peter Barton.
 
Villanova would score the final two goals of the game with 7:15 and 2:06 left, but the Pioneers sent the Peter Barton faithful, and more importantly, the entire Tierney family home happy with the 12-6 win.
 
Game Notes:
  • In his final season, Tierney improved to 434-151 overall and 162-58 in his 14 seasons at Denver.
  • Denver improved to 117-25 at Peter Barton, including 86-16 under Tierney.
  • The Pioneers improved to 16-4 against Villanova, winners of four of the last five.
  • Richie Connell extended his point streak to 16 games.
  • Denver improved to 148-27 when scoring double-digit goals under Tierney.
  • The Pioneers also improved to 113-6 when holding opponents to single digits in Tierney's 14 seasons.
  • Denver improved to 72-86 against ranked opponents, including 61-41 under Tierney.
    • Tierney also ran his Denver record to 29-33 against top-10 teams while at Denver.
    • Denver improved to 29-24 at home against ranked opponents.
  • Denver has now been on 28 10-1 runs or better in games under Tierney, and had its first such run of the season on Saturday afternoon.
TICKETS: Single game tickets for the 2023 Denver men's lacrosse season are on sale now, and can be purchased here.
 
UP NEXT: The Denver men's lacrosse team, presented by Your Hometown Toyota Stores, will return to the east coast for two games next weekend, starting with a return trip to Towson. Faceoff on Thursday, April 13, is set for 5 p.m. MT.
 
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