Saturday afternoon, the fifth-ranked DU men’s lacrosse team kicked off their 2021 season at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium against non-conference opponent Utah. After a slow first half, both teams scored a combined 13 goals in the second, and Denver ultimately walked away with a 9-8 victory. Last year, DU went 4-2 before the remainder of the season was abruptly canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Though DU outshot Utah 9-7 in the first quarter, the Utes scored the only goal with just over three minutes remaining. Graduate student attack Ethan Walker (Peterborough, Ontario) opened the scoring for Denver early in the second quarter, but Utah was able to find the net two times in the final minutes to give them a 3-1 lead at halftime. Walker took six of DU’s 25 shots for the half.
Senior midfielder Jack Hannah (Milford, Ohio) wasted no time getting DU back on track at the start of the second half. He scored two back-to-back goals in the first several minutes to tie up the game before the Utes’ Tyler Bradbury was able to take back the lead for Utah at 4-3 and 5-4.
Walker stepped up with two more goals for Denver in the final minute, and three seconds handed DU a 6-5 advantage and its first lead of the game. Walker’s third goal of the game gave him the 28th hat trick of his collegiate career. Graduate student attack and Yale transfer Jackson Morrill (Baltimore, Md.) also picked up his first goal for DU in the third quarter.
Three DU players were able to add to the scoreboard in the first five-and-a-half minutes of the final quarter. That is until the offense dropped off and allowed three goals from the Utes to close out the game. The third final-quarter goal from DU was scored by sophomore attack JJ Sillstrop (Encinitas, Calif.) who made a flashy highlight reel-worthy toss behind the back into the net. The win marked DU’s ninth-consecutive season-opening win.
“[Utah] came out and played with a lot of heart,” head coach Bill Tierney said. “We knew they were going to, but they did a great job today. Their goalie was fabulous. I’m proud of our guys for having the good run we had, down 3-1 to up 9-6.”
Sophomore goalie Jack Thompson (Castle Rock, Colo.) made 11 saves in the game.
Denver will travel to North Carolina to face Duke in Durham on Friday and North Carolina in Chapel Hill on Sunday. Duke’s matchup with Denver will be their first game of the season. They were ranked as the No. 1 team in the nation by the Inside Lacrosse preseason poll. North Carolina is ranked No. 4.
