DURHAM, N.C. – The [14/14] University of Denver men's lacrosse program had a couple chances at a late leveler, but [6/6] Duke held on for an 8-7 win on Sunday afternoon at Freeman Field at Koskinen Stadium.
 
LEADERS:
Sophomore goalie Grayson Manning made 14 saves against just eight goals allowed for a .636 save percentage on Sunday.
 
Denver had four different players finish with two points, including a pair of goals from Cody Malawsky and Chase Bruno.
 
Max Sloat had three goals to lead Duke.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
First Quarter:
Marek Tzagournis drew the game's first flag of the day, and then Daniel Clark found Rory Graham on the crease for the game's opening goal with 11:32 to go in the first.
 
Chase Bruno fired home Denver's second from just a couple steps inside the restraining line to double Denver's lead, and then Kaysey Choudry sniped one in transition to make it 3-0 Denver with 8:18 to go, forcing a Duke timeout.
 
Denver's defense followed up the back-to-back goals with a shot clock violation to maintain the momentum. The Pioneers' second transition goal of the day came off the clear from that shot clock violation when Patrick Reilly hit Marek Tzagournis in transition on the back post for his first of the day to extend the lead to 4-0 Pios.
 
The Pioneers forced another shot clock violation on a possession that included three blocked shots, and Denver cleared. DU couldn't convert on a second 30-second man-up opportunity, but took a 4-0 lead into the second frame.
 
Second Quarter:
Duke scored off the opening faceoff of the second quarter when Cal Girard buried the Blue Devils first goal eight seconds in, to trim Denver's advantage to three. The Blue Devils added a second juice goal, scoring in transition off a Denver turnover to make it 4-2 with 13:36 to go in the first half.
 
The home side looked to get a third transition goal in as many possessions, but Grayson Manning had the answer to the third shot on goal of the second quarter, and the Pioneers cleared it.
 
Duke got its first six-on-six goal of the afternoon at the midway point of the second when Tomas Delgado bounced one home to make it 4-3 Denver. The Blue Devils then tied it up on the next possession on a reset goal on the back post to even things up at 4-4 with 6:31 before halftime.
 
The Blue Devils added three more in the closing minutes of the half to take a 7-4 lead into the locker room.
 
Third Quarter
Cody Malawsky broke Denver's scoring drought to trim the Duke advantage to two less than four minutes into the second quarter. Max Sloat briefly got the Duke lead back to four before Malawsky answered with his second of the quarter to make it 8-6 Blue Devils with 6:23 to go in the third.
 
Manning made five saves in the third to hold Duke to just one in the quarter, but the Blue Devils took a two-goal lead into the final 15 minutes.
 
Fourth Quarter:
Bruno bounced one home from six yards out at the end of the shot clock to get Denver back to within one with 10:45 to play in regulation.
 
The two teams combined for only that one Bruno shot on goal in the final stanza, and Duke held on to the 8-7 win.
 
Postgame Notes:
Daniel Clark has six assists on man-up goals this season after his one in the first quarter on Sunday afternoon.
Kaysey Choudry scored his first career goal in the opening quarter, part of Denver's 4-0 run to start the game.
Grayson Manning finished in double digits in saves for the seventh time this season and the ninth time in his career.
 
UP NEXT: Denver will return home for its BIG EAST opener on Saturday afternoon when the Pioneers welcome Georgetown to Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium. Opening faceoff is set for 1 p.m. MT, and the game will be streamed live on ESPN+.  
  
TICKETS: Tickets for the 2026 season are on sale now, and can be purchased here.
 
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