With a #1 flag on the pole next to Peter Barton Stadium flying in the wind, representing their ranking, Denver Lacrosse squared off with yet another tough East Coast opponent in Yale. Unlike their clashes with Cornell and Johns Hopkins, DU was unable to pull off a comeback win and fell 15-13 to the Bulldogs.
In their previous high-profile games, Denver had been the underdogs who played with nothing to lose, but today the target was on their backs with the number one ranking. That tightness was on display early, as the game got off to a cagey start with no goals for either team for the first five minutes.
Yale got on the board first with a goal late in the shot clock. However, Denver responded immediately with a goal from junior midfielder Mic Kelly who tied the game at one. After DU got the next goal thanks to senior attacker JJ Sillstrop, the game looked like it had the potential to be a comfortable afternoon at the office for the number-one-ranked Crimson and Gold.
Yale would not allow that to happen, dominating the draws and scoring two of the last three goals of the quarter to make it 3-3 after the first stanza. Every time Denver looked like they had the momentum, Yale would respond quickly.
Denver was not as crisp and error-free as they had been in previous games, something Yale took advantage of. According to Head Coach Matt Brown, the game was lost due to small details.
“There are little moments, spacing in certain situations, fumbling the ball, not protecting the ball correctly,” Brown said. “It is fine details that maybe the fans don’t see, but we do when we break down the film. I love the compete in these guys, they have great fight and that won’t stop, but we need to dive into the details a bit more.”
DU would show that competitive drive throughout the game, making determined comebacks whenever it looked like Yale was about to pull away. After Denver scored the first goal of the second period, Yale scored three straight to make it 6-4. However, DU responded after going down two goals by hitting the post four times before getting the two goals back to tie the game.
Junior attacker Noah Manning and senior midfielder Michael Lampert would score within 20 seconds of each other to bring Peter Barton to life. Yale scored to regain the lead and made it 7-6 heading into halftime.
The two teams would go back and forth for much of the third quarter, with DU looking to have gained the upper hand midway through the quarter, taking a 10-9 lead following goals from Manning and Sillstrop.
After falling behind, Yale went on a game-changing four-goal run with their star Matt Brandau playing a central role in this rally. After going up 12-10 after the third quarter, the Bulldogs would score the first goal of the fourth, which was assisted by Brandau to make it 13-10.
Denver is as gutsy a team as there is, so the deficit did not discourage them and they went all out to get back into the game. They tied the game, scoring three straight goals, capped off by a wonderful shot by senior midfielder Joshua Carlson that tied the game at 13 and sent the fans into an uproar. It seemed like deja vu from the Cornell and Johns Hopkins comeback wins.
However, the Crimson and Gold rally ran out of gas, with Yale scoring two straight goals to make it 15-13. DU had nine minutes to get back into the game, but Yale shut down their attack, not allowing another goal. DU’s defense would keep them within striking distance, but the attack could not muster anything.
Denver fell 15-13 in a disappointing loss following their first week as number one in the ranking.
DU will go on a road trip and play their next three games away from home before coming back to Peter Barton Stadium on April 5th to take on St. Johns.
