The No. 13 ranked Denver women’s lacrosse team upset No. 6 ranked Stony Brook, 11-7, on a sunny Sunday afternoon. The Pioneers remain undefeated (4-0) and handed Stony Brook its first loss of the season. In the U.S. Lacrosse Poll, Stony Brook is ranked No. 5, making Denver’s Head Coach Liza Kelly’s upset first victory over a top-five team ranked in any poll since she started at Denver in 2006.
Denver started the scoring early in the game with a goal from sophomore Quintin Hoch-Bullen (Orilla, Ontario) who scored the first of her two goals at 28:43. She was followed by teammate senior Kendra Lanuza (Littleton, Colo.). Both goals were assisted by sophomore Eliza Radonchonski (Englewood, Colo.). Hoch-Bullen put the Pioneers in front, 3-0, at 23:26 with an unassisted goal. At 21:07, senior Julia Feiss (Baltimore, Md.) scored off an assist from sophomore Hannah Liddy (Westfield, N.J.). Sophomore Bea Behrins (Basking Ridge, N.J.) scored the first of her three goals at 15:15. Stony Brook scored its first goal at 14:23 and followed up with two more goals at 10:51 and 10:01. Denver responded with two goals from Behrins at 2:20, assisted by Liddy, and a goal at 00:37 by senior Elizabeth Behrins (Basking Ridge, N.J.). At the half, Denver was leading 7-3.
In the second half, Denver again was the first to score, as Radochonski scored her first goal of the game at 27:43 off an assist from Lanuza. Although Stony Brook scored three more goals, Radochonski scored an unassisted goal at 16:10 to keep the Pioneers ahead. Bea Behrins scored at 14:29 with an assist from Feiss to bring the Pioneers to double digits. Junior Molly Little (Tiverton, R.I.) was the final Pioneer to score, scoring at 00:35 to bring the score to 11-7, Pioneers.
Junior goalie Carson Gregg (Severna Park, Md.) spent the entire game in net, making a season-high 11 saves to preserve Denver’s lead. Elizabeth Behrins and Gregg were team leaders in ground balls, totally four each, while draw specialist, senior Maddie Baum (Piedmont, Calif.), and Little, each collected three draw controls. Liddy caused four turnovers, helping lead the team.
After the game, Kelly said “This was a great team win. Stony Brook gave us a run for our money, but we worked all week and today we saw the results we wanted.” She continued, “our bench was loud the entire competition, and being at home in our comfortable environment was a huge advantage. We’ll celebrate today, but tomorrow we get back to work.”
Denver will play its next two games at home at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium, facing Michigan on Tuesday, Feb. 26, at 12 p.m., MST.
