After a shocking loss to Villanova in the Big East Tournament, Denver Men’s Lacrosse was angry and had a point to prove entering the NCAA Tournament. That effort and desperation showed in the first quarter, as DU delivered a knockout punch in the first quarter, establishing a 7-1 lead.
Head Coach Matt Brown said, “We talked about having great energy; we did not have that last Thursday against Villanova. I thought today we did a great job getting off to a fast start.”
That fast start began on DU’s first offensive possession, where junior midfielder Mic Kelly scored a pretty goal as the shot clock expired after a good defensive possession by Michigan. This would set the tone for the opening quarter, where Denver was locked in.
After Michigan responded to tie the game, DU would go on a magical run that would all but seal the game for the Crimson and Gold. Kelly started the rally almost immediately after Michigan’s equalizer. After a faceoff win by senior faceoff ace Alec Stathakis, Denver was back in business.
On that possession senior attacker Richie Connell scored to make it 3-1. After that, Denver’s defense locked down the Wolverines’ attack, forcing a shot clock violation. After the shot clock violation, Denver would score two quick goals, sending the stadium into an uproar, particularly after a stellar goal by senior midfielder Michael Lampert.
With Stathakis dominating the faceoff circle, Denver got chance after chance, and they capitalized once again, with freshman attacker Cody Malawsky scoring to make it 6-1. The Crimson and Gold would finish off the quarter in style, with star senior attacker JJ Sillstrop scoring a goal with 13 seconds left.
Denver’s dominance continued into the second period with the lead ballooning to 9-1 before Michigan finally scored a goal. DU would go into the half up 10-3 and in total control.
After Sillstrop scored to open the third quarter, Michigan made their move. Brown knew this was coming but liked DU’s response.
“They made a run, and we knew they would make a run. Our guys stayed true and answered the bell and stopped the run when they needed to,” said Brown.
That run would come in the middle of the third quarter, where the Wolverines scored five unanswered goals to cut the lead to 11-8. However, DU stopped the bleeding, with Kelly and Malawsky scoring to make the lead a more comfortable 13-8 entering the fourth quarter.
After Denver made it 15-8, Michigan made another run, but at this point, it was hopeless for the Wolverines. They made it 15-10, but Sillstrop scored his third of the game to put the finishing touches on a fantastic performance.
Denver would win 16-11 to reach their first NCAA Tournament quarterfinals since 2018. This has already been a fantastic season for Brown, who is following the massive footsteps of legendary coach Bill Tierney in his first season as Head Coach.
The season has already been a success, but it is not over, with Denver playing the fourth-seed Syracuse on Sunday in the NCAA Quarterfinals. They will play at a neutral site at John Hopkins University, and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
