Thursday, March 12
Columbus, Ohio
5 p.m. MT
University of Denver
4-2
4
at
6
Ohio State
7-1
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denver | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Ohio St. | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
Photo by: C. Morgan Engel/Clarkson Creative Photography
[12/13] Denver Drops Defensive Affair at [8/7] Ohio State
3/12/2026 7:12:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse
The Pioneers will return home on Monday night to take on nationally ranked Syracuse
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The [12/13] University of Denver men's lacrosse program dropped its second game to a team ranked in the top-10 this season, falling to [8/7] Ohio State 6-4 in a battle of defenses on Thursday night at the Ohio State Lacrosse Stadium.
LEADERS:
Sophomore goalie Grayson Manning made 12 stops against just six goals allowed to lead the Pioneers on the defensive side. Denver's defense forced 20 Ohio State turnovers, led by two caused turnovers by Sam Trumble.
Marek Tzagournis led the Pioneers offense with three points on a pair of goals and an assist. Garrett Haas led Ohio State with a three-point game of his own.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
First Quarter:
Ohio State opened the scoring in the first three minutes of the game when Jake Struck finished a Jackson Walsh feed to get the home team on the board.
Denver's defense dug in, in response, forcing three Ohio State shot clock violations, but the Pioneer offense wasn't able to convert on the other side, and the Buckeyes went on to take a 2-0 lead into the quarter break.
Second Quarter:
Walsh finished a feed from faceoff specialist Matt Mayfield on the opening faceoff of the second quarter to put Ohio State up 3-0. Rory Graham got Denver on the board with his sixth goal of the season with 9:23 remaining, while also drawing a flag to send Denver on the man-up.
The Ohio High School state all-time points leader Marek Tzagournis scored against his hometown team to cut the Pioneers deficit to one on the ensuing man-up with 8:23 to play before halftime.
Third Quarter
Ohio State's Garrett Haas opened the third-quarter scoring with his 17th goal of the year, bouncing home the finish to beat Grayson Manning.
After the Buckeyes added another with 7:29 to play in the frame, Tzagournis got his second of the night, this time off a feed from Joe Taraboletti to cut the deficit to 5-3 with 4:10 to go in the third.
OSU took that two-goal lead into the final 15 minutes.
Fourth Quarter:
Haas opened the fourth quarter scoring as well to push the Ohio State lead back to three with 13:47 to play in regulation.
Turnovers plagued both teams in the middle part of the fourth before a Tzagournis feed to a cutting Daniel Clark got Denver on the board in the fourth to cut the deficit back to two with 3:39 to play.
Postgame Notes:
Denver lost its first game under third-year head coach Matt Brown when allowing less than 10 goals.
Overall it was Denver's first loss when allowing single digits since losing to Georgetown 8-3 in the 2018 BIG EAST Final.
The 2018 BIG EAST Final was also the last time Denver was held to four goals or less.
Grayson Manning finished with double digit saves for the fifth time this season and the seventh time in his career.
UP NEXT: Denver will return home on Monday night to take on [7/8] Syracuse at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium. Opening faceoff is set for 6 p.m. MT, and the game will be broadcast live on Altitude TV and 104.3 the Fan HD3.
TICKETS: Tickets for the 2026 season are on sale now, and can be purchased here.
DENVER'S HOME FOR COLLEGE SPORTS
Visit DenverPioneers.com for complete coverage of all 18 of DU's NCAA Division I sports.
Like Denver Pioneers and DU Men's Lacrosse on Facebook
Follow @DU_Pioneers and @DU_MLAX on Twitter
Follow @denverpioneers and @denvermlax on Instagram
LEADERS:
Sophomore goalie Grayson Manning made 12 stops against just six goals allowed to lead the Pioneers on the defensive side. Denver's defense forced 20 Ohio State turnovers, led by two caused turnovers by Sam Trumble.
Marek Tzagournis led the Pioneers offense with three points on a pair of goals and an assist. Garrett Haas led Ohio State with a three-point game of his own.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
First Quarter:
Ohio State opened the scoring in the first three minutes of the game when Jake Struck finished a Jackson Walsh feed to get the home team on the board.
Denver's defense dug in, in response, forcing three Ohio State shot clock violations, but the Pioneer offense wasn't able to convert on the other side, and the Buckeyes went on to take a 2-0 lead into the quarter break.
Second Quarter:
Walsh finished a feed from faceoff specialist Matt Mayfield on the opening faceoff of the second quarter to put Ohio State up 3-0. Rory Graham got Denver on the board with his sixth goal of the season with 9:23 remaining, while also drawing a flag to send Denver on the man-up.
The Ohio High School state all-time points leader Marek Tzagournis scored against his hometown team to cut the Pioneers deficit to one on the ensuing man-up with 8:23 to play before halftime.
Third Quarter
Ohio State's Garrett Haas opened the third-quarter scoring with his 17th goal of the year, bouncing home the finish to beat Grayson Manning.
After the Buckeyes added another with 7:29 to play in the frame, Tzagournis got his second of the night, this time off a feed from Joe Taraboletti to cut the deficit to 5-3 with 4:10 to go in the third.
OSU took that two-goal lead into the final 15 minutes.
Fourth Quarter:
Haas opened the fourth quarter scoring as well to push the Ohio State lead back to three with 13:47 to play in regulation.
Turnovers plagued both teams in the middle part of the fourth before a Tzagournis feed to a cutting Daniel Clark got Denver on the board in the fourth to cut the deficit back to two with 3:39 to play.
Postgame Notes:
Denver lost its first game under third-year head coach Matt Brown when allowing less than 10 goals.
Overall it was Denver's first loss when allowing single digits since losing to Georgetown 8-3 in the 2018 BIG EAST Final.
The 2018 BIG EAST Final was also the last time Denver was held to four goals or less.
Grayson Manning finished with double digit saves for the fifth time this season and the seventh time in his career.
UP NEXT: Denver will return home on Monday night to take on [7/8] Syracuse at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium. Opening faceoff is set for 6 p.m. MT, and the game will be broadcast live on Altitude TV and 104.3 the Fan HD3.
TICKETS: Tickets for the 2026 season are on sale now, and can be purchased here.
DENVER'S HOME FOR COLLEGE SPORTS
Visit DenverPioneers.com for complete coverage of all 18 of DU's NCAA Division I sports.
Like Denver Pioneers and DU Men's Lacrosse on Facebook
Follow @DU_Pioneers and @DU_MLAX on Twitter
Follow @denverpioneers and @denvermlax on Instagram
Players Mentioned
Midfield
/ Men's Lacrosse
Attack
/ Men's Lacrosse
Goalie
/ Men's Lacrosse
Midfield
/ Men's Lacrosse
SSDM
/ Men's Lacrosse
Attack
/ Men's LacrosseTeam Stats
DU
OSU
Shots
30
47
Turnovers
21
20
Caused Turnovers
8
8
Faceoffs Won
4
10
Extra-Man Opps
1
2
Ground Balls
30
31
Game Leaders
G
2
A
1
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
1
CT
0
G
1
A
1
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
2
CT
0
G
1
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
1
CT
0
G
0
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
1
CT
1
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