The Denver Women’s Lacrosse team repeated as Big East tournament champions on their home field with a gritty 16-15 overtime win against Georgetown. The Hoyas pushed Denver to the limit despite their deceptively mediocre 9-9 record, a result of their difficult schedule. The two teams met earlier in the season in Washington, D.C., which also resulted in a tightly-contested Denver win. 

The game got off to an inauspicious start for the Crimson and Gold who went into halftime down 12-7. Touching on the strong first half by the visitors, Coach Liza Kelly said “ They came out hard and fast and they were all over us”. 

Despite the excellent first half by Georgetown, Denver did enough to keep their heads above water, largely thanks to the efforts of two of their star players, freshman midfielder Lauren Black (New Westminster, B.C.) and graduate senior attacker Bea Behrins (Basking Ridge, N.J.) who each had two goals in the first half. 

Denver came out with a point to prove in the second half, scoring six of the first seven goals to start the half. Behrins picked up right where she left off, scoring two more goals during Denver’s big run, including the goal that cut the lead to 13-12. Junior attacker Julia Gilbert (Mclean, Va.) was also instrumental to Denver’s rally, pitching in two goals in that span.

After Tatum Geist scored to give Georgetown a 14-12 lead with 10 minutes and 16 seconds remaining, Denver needed to respond quickly to salvage the comeback momentum. Julia Gilbert did just that, putting the team on her back by scoring two goals in under a minute to tie the game at 14. 

However, Gilbert was not done. With 4:34 remaining, Gilbert got the assist on Lauren Black’s goal to put Denver ahead 15-14. This was their first lead since Bea Behrins scored the first goal of the game. 

Georgetown refused to go away quietly, scoring the game-tying goal with 1:09 remaining. Neither team would score before the end of regulation, sending the game into overtime. 

After a back-and-forth start to overtime, Denver would come out on top, their stars carrying them to victory. Behrins found the back of the net after receiving a pass from none other than Gilbert, who was a force throughout the game, finishing with five goals and three assists. 

This win secured Denver a spot in the NCAA Tournament in Chestnut Hill, Mass., which begins Friday, May 13 where they will play Vermont in the first round.