DENVER -- The University of Denver women's lacrosse team defeated the Marquette Golden Eagles, 17-6, at Peter Barton to advance to the Big East Championship game.
Marquette struck first at the 13-minute mark but
Karleigh Mutch was quick to respond off a feed from
Eva Thomsen-Marr to tie it up.
Olivia Ripple and
Caroline Bowers both cashed in to extend the lead to 3-1 before the Golden Eagles responded with a goal of their own. Mutch and Bowers added their second tallies of the day to give Denver a 5-3 lead after one.
The Pioneers poured on the offense in the second quarter and held Marquette to a single goal to extend the lead to 10-4 at halftime. Ripple and Bowers earned first-half hat tricks and Mutch tacked on her second goal of the day.
Denver continued to roll in the third quarter, holding Marquette scoreless in the frame.
Eva Thomsen-Marr recorded her fourth helper of the day off a goal by Mutch and Kenda Harris connected on a pass from fellow freshman
Carys Volley to extend the lead to 13-4.
Marquette got one back to start the frame but was unable to overcome the deficit. Mutch tacked on her career-high fourth goal and
Caroline Keil cashed in on the free position opportunity to earn a 17-6 victory.
KEY PERFORMANCES:
Olivia Ripple led the offense with six goals while
Eva Thomsen-Marr added six points on a goal and a career-best five assists.
Karleigh Mutch added a career-high five points on four goals and an assist.
Megan Klingenberg led the Pioneers with three caused turnovers while
Kiri Weber added two. Klingenberg and
Landry Grover grabbed three ground balls apiece.
Denver had a balanced draw effort with Ripple and Grover grabbing three wins in the circle and Frohnapfel and Mutch both added a pair.
Lexi Gwaku set a new career high with 10 saves in goal.
UP NEXT:
The Pioneers will face the winner of the semifinal matchup between UConn and Georgetown on Saturday at 1 p.m. MT at Peter Barton Stadium.
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