DU women’s lacrosse opened their season at home in Peter Barton Stadium on Friday, picking up right where they left off from their undefeated regular season last year. Denver trampled over the Louisville Cardinals with a 16-8 win.
After a trip to the D-I national championship semi-final last season, it appears the unit has only improved, the roster almost the same as last season. Moreover, their first game of last season was also against Louisville, in which Denver won 5-4.
Sophomore attack Ryan Dineen started the scoring a little over a minute into the game.
A minute after that, graduate attacker and All-Big East first-teamer Julia Gilbert netted her first goal of the season. Gilbert finished her last campaign first on the team in goals (59) shots (130) and shots on goal (104). She hasn’t lost a step, finishing her first game of the season with 3 goals and 6 shots, the 22nd hat-trick of her career.
DU finished the first quarter 5-0 with 11 shots on goal to Louisville’s zero. DU expanded their lead to 10-4 at halftime, leading Louisville 24-9 in shots and 18-6 in shots on goal.
Louisville made a slight comeback in the third quarter, bringing the score to 11-8 going into the fourth quarter. However, Louisville’s effort wasn’t enough, as DU stomped over the Cardinals, scoring five goals in the fourth and winning the game 16-8.
Coach Liza Kelly spoke on the large tally on the scoreboard.
“This feels awesome, last year we beat them 5-4, so to put up 16 on them and hold them under 10 feels great,” she said.
Junior attack Lauren Black, graduate attack Olivia Penoyer and graduate attack Jane Earley, all notched big numbers as well. Black finished with three goals and two assists. Poyner had two goals and three assists, while Earley scored two goals.
Coach Kelly spoke on the improvements the team has made since their semi-final run last season.
“I think it’s a focus on each player’s individual game, after making a deep run in the championship. It becomes the question of ‘how can I improve and continue to build on each of my strengths’ at this point,” she said.
Denver’s heads to Ann Arbor, Michigan to take on the top-ten-ranked Wolverines on Saturday in their next contest.
