SALT LAKE CITY – The [20/RV] University of Denver men's lacrosse program took its first lead of the afternoon with 3:03 remaining courtesy of Marek Tzagournis' second goal of the game, and sophomore goalie Grayson Manning made nine of his 19 saves in the fourth quarter, including two after Denver took the lead,to take the Pioneers past [RV/RV] Utah 8-7 on Saturday afternoon at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
 
LEADERS:
Manning's 19 saves tie him for the third-most in Denver's DI history and is Denver's most in a game since Jack Thompson stopped 20 shots at Villanova on April 28, 2021.
 
Denver's attack tandem of Cody Malawsky and Tzagournis finished with a pair of goals apiece. SSDM Sam Trumble rounded out Denver's multi-point getters, giving Denver a goal and an assist in transition.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
First Quarter:
Utah scored on its first two possessions in just over two and a half minutes to race out to an early lead in Salt Lake. A tally from redshirt junior Cody Malawsky stopped the early Utes run and cut the deficit in half.
 
The Utes turned Denver over in the ride that led to a goal from Ryan Stines with 5:40 to go to take the lead back to two at 3-1.
 
Second Quarter:
Denver opened the second-quarter scoring on a beautiful string of passing that ended with Chris Merageas finding an open Rory Graham wide open in-front of the cage for the finish to cut the deficit in half once more with 12:18 to go before halftime.
 
Lucas Klokiw said bouncers will go to even things back up at 3-3 with 9:49 to go, finding the top corner off the turf from 12-yards out for his third of the year and the 10^th of his career.
 
Cade Faulkner put Utah back in-front with 7:42 to go, a 4-3 lead that stood at the intermission.
 
Grayson Manning made six saves for the Pioneers in the first 30 minutes.
 
Third Quarter
Faulkner completed his hat trick late in the last seconds of the shot clock of the Utes' opening possession to restore the home team's two-goal advantage.
 
Malawsky answered the goal on Denver's next possession, tucking it inside the near post by the goalie's feet for his second of the day with 12:17 to go. Ryan Stines scored on the man-down as Denver's defense was trying to press out to get the ball back, splitting through a triple team before beating Manning for his second of the day.
 
Luke Shinofield faked a 15-yard shot and in one motion found Marek Tzagournis on the back post for the wide-open goal to make it a 6-5 game. The back and forth continued as Utah stretched its lead back out to 7-5 before Russell Overly scored from 15-yards out in transition to make it a 7-6 game at the midway point of the third.
 
Manning made several saves in the back half of the third quarter, but the offense couldn't find the back of the net on the other end and the Utes took a one-goal lead into the final quarter.
 
Fourth Quarter:
After Manning made two saves on Utah's opening possession of the fourth quarter, Sam Trumble buried a Watt Muir feed in transition to even things up for the first time since it was 3-3 with 9:49 to go in the second quarter.
 
Both teams squandered transition opportunities in the following minutes before Malawsky's first look at his hat trick rattled the iron and Utah was able to clear. Manning made his career-high 17^th save on the Utes opportunity and led the Pioneers clear before Matt Brown used a timeout with 3:27 to go.
 
Out of the timeout, Tzagournis made a great cut from 10-yards behind GLE and beat his man to the top of the crease before netting his second of the afternoon and giving Denver its first lead of the game with 3:03 remaining in regulation.
 
Manning made his 18^th save to allow Denver to kill 80 seconds off the clock, and then with two seconds remaining, the Denver sophomore netminder came out to the top of his crease to close down Will Overly's attempt at a late leveler to secure the win for the Pioneers.
 
NOTES:
The win gives Denver its second 3-0 start in the last eight years (2024).
Denver's defense has allowed 10 total goals through three games.
Denver's defense didn't allow a Utah goal in the final 23:34.  
The Pioneers improved to 7-0 all-time vs. Utah.
DU improved to 3-1 on Valentine's Day in its Division I history.
Denver won its first game when trailing after three quarters since also trailing Utah 7-6 in last year's game, a home contest the Pioneers went on to win 10-8.
Junior attackman Marek Tzagournis finished with two goals, including the game-winner.
Tzagournis stretched his active point streak to eight games.
The goal marked Denver's first one-goal win since Richie Connell scored with 4:55 remaining to send Denver past No. 6 Cornell in February, 2024.
Redshirt junior attackman Cody Malawsky finished with two goals.
Malawsky extended his team-high point and goal streaks to 10 games.
Sophomore goalie Grayson Manning made a career-high 19 saves on Saturday.
Manning's 19 saves ties with three other performances for third in Denver's Division I history, just two off Jeff Nunziato's 21-save day at Virginia in 2003.
Manning's previous career high was against Utah last season (16).
Manning made double digit saves for the second time this season and the fourth time of his career.
 
UP NEXT: Denver will return to Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium next weekend to welcome nationally-ranked Cornell to the Mile High City. Opening faceoff is set for 12 p.m. MT, and the game will be broadcast on Midco Sports Plus.
 
TICKETS: Tickets for the 2026 season are on sale now, and can be purchased here.
 
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