The men’s lacrosse team fell to No. 10 Ohio State 15-8 in the semifinals of the Great Western Lacrosse League Tournament on Friday night, but received an at large bid to the NCAA tournament and will continue its season with a game against Maryland on Saturday.

“I knew our RPI and SOS were very good, but you never know,” said Head Coach Jamie Munro on whether he thought the team would be able to continue.

The at large bids are given out based on a team’s performance during conference

play.

“We won games over Notre Dame, Colgate and Brown,” said Coach Munro. “Those wins were better than that of the other teams vying for the final two at large bids.”

Freshman Jamie Lincoln, named GWLL Newcomer of the Year, led the Pioneers in their game against Ohio State with three goals.

After the first period, Denver was down 7-1 after the Buckeyes scored just over a minute into the game. Denver came back quickly with a goal from freshman Emerson Eichler, assisted by sophomore Charley Dickenson. In the remaining 13 minutes of the first period, Ohio State scored six straight goals, unanswered by the Pioneers. Trailing by six, sophomore Peyton Tyrie relieved junior Ausitn Konkel in the goal.

Junior Cliff Smith scored with an assist by sophomore Ben Wahler in the second period, but not before Ohio State had a chance to put two more goals on the board..

At halftime, the Pioneers were trailing the Buckeyes 10-4. Lincoln scored two of his three goals just before the end of the second period, again closing the Buckeye’s lead to six.

The Pioneers failed to score in the third period, but Ohio put three more goals on the board, bringing their lead 13-4 as the teams headed into the final quarter.

Denver attempted a comeback in the fourth quarter, but could not close the gap. They did outscore Ohio State in the fourth quarter four to two with goals from Wahler, Lincoln, Charley Dickenson and sophomore John Dickenson. The final score was 15-8, giving the Buckeyes the semifinal victory.

Tyrie had six saves during his time in the goal, and Konkel had one. The Pioneers’ record for the regular season is 10-4, 4-1.

Though the Pioneers lost to Ohio State in the semi-finals, their record put them above Georgetown, Army, Brown and Princeton, who they were competing against for the at large bid.

The Pioneers will continue their season with a game at Maryland this saturday at 10 a.m. Denver has now made the NCAA tournament two times in program history and have played Maryland both times.