DU Men’s Lacrosse defeated Furman 13-8 March 3 in Paladin Stadium, improving to a 3-1 record on the season. Sophomore Ethan Walker (Peterborough, Ontario) contributed seven points off four goals and three assists. Walker now has 21 points in Denver’s last three contests. Junior Colton Jackson (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) had four goals of his own in the match, and junior Austin French (Danville, Calif.) finished with four points and two assists.

Following his 22-for-22 performance, senior Trevor Baptiste (Denville, N.J.) went 23-of-24 in the game, finishing with 17 ground balls. Baptiste now has 20+ faceoff wins in 19 of his 56 career games.

On the defensive end, junior Dylan Gaines (Baltimore, Md.) led the Pioneers with two forced turnovers and three ground balls.

Jackson led the Pioneers, opening the scoring off Walker’s first of three assists in the opening 30 minutes. Walker netted his 11th and 12th goals of the campaign to stretch the Crimson and Gold first quarter lead to 3-1. Furman rallied back, earning a 3-2 score to end the first quarter.

Denver outscored Furman 5-1 in the second quarter, led by French. Jackson opened the second quarter how he did the first with a step down off a feed from Walker to make it 4-2. Junior Nate Marano (Tustin, Calif.) scored from the right alley for his third point of the year. French  and senior midfielder Connor Donahue  (Groton, Mass.) contributed the next three goals, Donahue’s third of the season to give Denver an 8-3 lead at the break.

Furman opened the second half strong, with a three goal run in the first 10 minutes, but the Pioneers responded with a three-goal run as well. Jackson and Walker each completed hat tricks in the final 1:42 of the third quarter, and senior Colton McCaffrey (Parker, Colo.) found the back of the net to make it 11-6 on the first possession of the final quarter.

Denver and Furman both scored twice in the last 5:15 of the contest. Jackson and Walker grabbed their fourth goals of the game in the quarter, with Walker’s coming off a feed from French.

Denver will continue the three-game road string on March 5 as the Pioneers head to Chapel Hill to take on  North Carolina, then head to Notre Dame on March 10.