The Pioneers defeated San Diego State 17-12 following a dominant first half in which Denver outshot San Diego State 14-5. Although the Aztecs came back in the second half, Denver defense held on to preserve the lead.
The Pioneers scored the first goal one minute into the game when junior Julia Feiss (Baltimore, Md.) scored with a free-position goal. One minute later, Feiss scored a second free-position goal, the second of her four goals in the game. With 21:19 left in the first half, freshman Eliza Radochonski (Englewood, Colo.) scored another free-position goal, followed by junior Kendra Lanuza’s (Littleton, Colo.) 100th career point, a no-look goal from over her shoulder. She is the 17th player in Denver history to reach this mark. At 17:18, Feiss made her third goal of the game with another free-position shot. Freshman Quintin Hoch-Bullen (Severn, Ontario) scored Denver’s sixth straight goal with 14 minutes left.
The Aztecs scored their first goal of the game at 13:54, followed by a second goal 40 seconds later. The Pioneers’ defense held San Diego State to just five shots, minimizing opportunities for the Aztecs to take a lead. The offense also responded with two straight goals by junior Elizabeth Behrins (Basking Ridge, N.J.) assisted by Lanuza, and a second goal from Hoch-Bullen.
The Pioneers ended the first half up 13-3 after a run of five-straight goals. Lanuza scored twice at 16 and 4:17, Radochonski scored at 2:46, senior captain Caitlin Derry (Seal Beach, Calif.) scored at 0:54 and freshman Caroline Wiseman (Alexandria, Va.) scored at 1:37.
In the second half, junior Riley Eggeman (Mission Viejo, Calif.) scored off an assist from Hoch-Bullen during a man-up advantage. San Diego State would then go on a three-goal scoring run, which was answered by a goal from Feiss at 18:54, assisted by Eggeman. After another SDSU goal, sophomore Laura Milleker (Severna Park, Md.) scored. Sophomore Molly Little (Tiverton, R.I.) scored the final goal of the game for Pioneers with an assist from Behrins. The game ended at 17-12.
Feiss and Lanuza led the team with four points each, while redshirt junior Katherine Fischer (Upper Nyack, N.Y.) had a career-high five ground balls as well as a career-high three draw controls, while Little had six draw controls and Nicki Wilkinson (Groton, Mass.) tied her career-high of three caused turnovers. Junior Maddie Baum (Piedmont, Calif.) had a career-high four draw controls.
Denver will play Virginia tech on March 7 at noon at the Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium.
