With the highest ranking in school history, having beaten two top-five teams in an undefeated non-conference campaign, the Crimson and Gold women’s lacrosse team came into Big East play with the potential for a historic season. They made a statement of intent, thumping the previously 8-2 Villanova Wildcats in a 17-4 victory. The game was never a contest, with Denver scoring the first three goals and never looking back.
Senior attacker Kayla DeRose (Gaithersburg, Md.) opened the scoring less than a minute into the game by cutting into open space and beating the Wildcats goalie with a one-hop shot, giving Denver a lead they would never relinquish.
After a few scoreless minutes, DU would score twice in just over a minute with goals from sophomore attacker Lauren Black (New Westminster, B.C.) and senior attacker Julia Gilbert (Mclean, Va.), increasing the lead to 3-0 early in the first quarter.
Gilbert has been Denver’s leading scorer with 28 goals through the first 11 games, and her four-goal and three-assist performance added to her leading tallies. However, Gilbert was more excited about the team’s success than her own individual success.
“It’s great to come out with a team win. We are taking April head on, looking forward to our next couple games,” said Gilbert.
After Villanova cut the lead to two with two and a half minutes left in the first quarter, Denver would effectively end the game, scoring six straight goals. Gilbert scored two of them, as did freshman attacker Ryan Dineen (Huntingtown, Md.) and redshirt sophomore Raegan Wilson (Milton, Ontario). This run put the game out of reach, but it did not stop Denver from hunting down more goals, winning 17-4 in the end.
Despite being the last goal in a game that was already decided, senior attacker Charlotte Boote’s (Towson, Md.) goal was particularly meaningful for the Denver team. It was her first goal since coming back from an ACL tear that has left her on the sidelines for the better part of a year. The whole stadium was visibly ecstatic after she put the ball in the back of the net.
Head Coach Liza Kelly said, “She has been working so hard to come back from that injury and sometimes you have to tear the bandaid off and find a way to get it done, and she scored a fall down goal today which was cool.”
Another important milestone was recorded when junior draw specialist Abby Jenkins (Richmond, Va.) set the record for most draws won in school history, passing her former coach Kiki Boone who was in attendance Saturday afternoon. Jenkins broke the record well before Boone did, and is likely to extend her record far more into her junior and senior seasons.
“She is one of those people that really focuses on being a draw specialist. She does it every day, she works really hard with our coaches and the other draw specialists on the team. They push each other so hard and this record is almost like a team effort,” said Coach Kelly.
Denver will be back in action on Wednesday afternoon to take on Butler University at Peter Barton Memorial Stadium with hopes of keeping their undefeated season streak going.
