The University of Denver Homecoming Weekend festivities continued on Saturday with a men’s lacrosse game between the current squad and players of years past. 

The game got off to a slow start, with the most excitement in the first half of the first period being two broken sticks. Things soon picked up and with just under 8 minutes left in the first period, sophomore attack Noah Manning (Victoria, B.C.) scored the first goal of the game. The rest of the period was just as hectic, and by the end of period 1, DU was up 4-0 with goals from sophomore defenseman Jimmy Freehill (Newton, Mass.), junior midfielder Ty Hussy (Aurora, Colo.) and an additional goal from Manning. 

Period two was high-scoring fun. Not even two minutes into the period, senior attack JJ Sillstrop (Encinitas, Calif.) scored, setting the tone for the rest of the period, where a goal was scored every two minutes for the remainder of the game. The first score from the alumni came from attack Austin French (Danville, Calif.) who graduated in 2019. Four more current student-athletes scored during the second period, which brought the current team up 9-2 at the half. 

The third period was once again dominated by the current team. Sillstrop and sophomore midfielder Mic Kelly (Towson, Md.) scored additional goals and Hussy had an assist. Junior midfielder Steven Avery (Nashville, Tenn.) scored early in the period and senior attack Richie Connell (Evergreen, Colo.) scored with just a minute left in the period for two new players who were added to the scoring agenda, ending the period at 13-2. 

The current team continued their goal streak with 6 new goals in the fourth period. Freshman midfielder Tim Kirchner (Northport, N.Y.) scored two back-to-back goals in the 13th minute. Freshman midfielder Chase Tzagournis (Dublin, Ohio) and senior midfielder Quinn Marquez (Danville, Calif.) both scored with under five minutes remaining in the fourth period. The current players easily dominated the players of the past, with a final score of 19-3. Penalties were not super prominent in this game with the alumni picking up four, while the current team didn’t get a single one.

The freshmen during this game showed great promise, and when formal play kicks off next year, the team will look to get to remain competitive in the Big East.