NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The [16/16] University of Denver men's lacrosse team fell behind early and couldn't claw back in a 15-10 loss at Yale on Saturday afternoon at Reese Stadium.
 
SIGNIFICANT STATS:
Mic Kelly led Denver's offense with five goals, scoring on all five of his shots on goal. Marek Tzagournis finished with four assists. Noah Manning was Denver's only other multi-point getter, finishing with a goal and an assist.
 
Jimmy Freehill led Denver's defense with three CTS and a pair of ground balls. Russell Overly had two caused turnovers and two ground balls as well to go with his first goal of the season in transition.
 
Senior Malcolm Kleban came off the bench to make 15 saves against 10 goals allowed.
 
POSTGAME NOTES:
Mic Kelly's hat trick was his third of the season and the eighth of his career.
Kelly's five goals were a new career high for the senior.
Kelly's five goals was Denver's second five-goal game of the year (Cody Malawsky – 5 – vs. Utah).
Malcolm Kleban made double digit saves for the third time this season and the 16^th time in his career.
Kleban's 15 saves were a new career high for the senior.
Kleban's 15 saves were Denver's second 15+ save performance of the year (Grayson Manning – 16 – vs. Utah).
Marek Tzagournis' four assists on Saturday were a new career high.
Tzagournis' four assists Saturday was Denver's second 4+ assist game of the season (Jack Tortolani – 4 – vs. Marist).
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
First Quarter:
Yale jumped out to a 6-0 start and an 8-2 lead after the opening quarter in New Haven, outshooting the Pioneers 15-6 and winning nine of the 11 faceoffs in the period.
 
Mic Kelly had both goals for Denver in the opening 15 minutes. Denver gave up eight goals in a quarter for the first time since surrendering nine at North Carolina on February 7, 2021.
 
Second Quarter:
Yale's Cole Jackson made it 9-2 with 11:10 to go in the half before Judge Murphy broke a more than seven minute scoring drought by both teams with his seventh goal of the season off a feed from Marek Tzagournis. The Bulldogs scored the final two of the half to take an 11-3 lead into the locker room.
 
Third Quarter:
Russell Overly scored in transition to cancel out Yale's opening goal of the season half to make it a 12-4 game with 10:19 to go. After a man-up goal for the Bulldogs, Denver got back-to-back tallies for the first time on Saturday when Noah Manning scored on the man-up and Kelly completed his hat trick on a feed from Jack Tortolani to trim the deficit to seven with 3:54 to go in the frame.
 
Yale held for one shot down the stretch and converted with eight seconds to go to take a 14-6 lead into the final quarter.
 
Fourth Quarter:
Kelly's fourth of the day opened the scoring eight minutes into the final quarter before Yale's only goal of the frame restored the eight-goal advantage. Casey Wilson found the back of the net for his third of the season and Joshua Carlson netted his sixth to make it 15-9 with 2:07 to go. Kelly's fifth bounced under the bar and in to get Denver its third-straight and close the scoring at 15-10.
 
UP NEXT:
Denver will return to Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium next Sunday when the Pioneers welcome Ohio State to the Mile High City. Opening faceoff is set for 12 p.m. MT, and the game will be broadcast on Midco Sports Plus and 104.3 The Fan HD3.
 
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