On March 7, the no. 19 ranked DU women’s lacrosse team had their 2021 home opener at a sunny Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium. The team hosted the Arizona State University Sun Devils in what marked the two programs’ first-ever match together after ASU’s Division I program launched in 2018.
DU took an early commanding lead over the Sun Devils, dominating both sides of the ball and walking away with a 22-10 victory to kick off the season. DU is now 1-1 after losing their season opener last week against Colorado.
In the first half, DU put up 13 goals to ASU’s 5. Senior attack Eliza Radochonski (Englewood, Colo.) led the scoring with 5 total goals in the half, including the 1st goal 54 seconds into the game. Senior midfielder Caroline Wiseman (Alexandria, Va.) followed Radochonski’s 1st goal to make it 2-0 in the first two minutes of the game. The Sun Devils were able to catch up to hold the score at a 4-4 tie with 21:05 remaining in the half.
DU then found itself with a 2 goal lead with one from senior attack Bea Behrins (Basking Ridge, N.J.) and the other from Radochonski. An unassisted goal from Arizona State’s Maddy Hunter was followed by a 7 goal run from DU to close out the half. Denver was also able to put up a 20-6 advantage in shots on goal.
Denver’s 8 goal lead allowed the team to feel well in control heading into the second half. Radochonski completed a sock trick with her 6th goal of the morning just over a minute into the half.
ASU picked up some momentum for a brief 11 minute stretch of the half—outscoring DU 5-3—but 4 consecutive goals from DU in the final 10 minutes, including the final 2 from junior attack Taylor DeRose (Gaithersburg, Md.), sealed the victory for Denver.
Though Radochonski scored the most goals of the day, senior attack Hannah Liddy (Westfield, N.J.) led the team in total points with 2 goals of her own and 6 assists (two of which were to Radochonski). Arizona State had 8 penalties throughout the game to Denver’s 4.
DU will stay home this weekend to host San Diego State on Friday at 1 p.m. MDT.
