After a disappointing road trip where Denver men’s lacrosse lost to Air Force and Duke, the Crimson and Gold bounced back to defeat Merrimack and kickstart the final campaign of legendary coach Bill Tierney’s career. DU was in complete control of the game from start to finish, never trailing at any point in the game and leading by as much as seven goals before Merrimack netted a few consolation goals to make it a 13-9 DU victory.
Sophomore attacker Andrew Atchison (Marietta, Ga.) opened up the scoring for DU, something they have managed to do in all four games, rifling in an unassisted goal.
Merrimack would respond quickly to tie the game, but DU would reassert themselves with consecutive goals from freshman Dan Anderson (Syracuse, N.Y.) and sophomore Casey Wilson (Victoria, B.C.) to give themselves a lead they would never relinquish. For Anderson, it was his first career collegiate goal.
Each team would score one more goal in the period to make it 4-2 after the first quarter.
The second quarter would be an even one on the scoresheet, with both teams scoring three goals, despite Denver controlling the game. In the first half, DU outshot Merrimack by a whopping 30-13, with a less dramatic but still substantial 15-10 advantage in shots on goal.
The third quarter is where Denver would put the game to bed, outscoring Merrimack 5-1. Sophomore goal-scoring savant Noah Manning (Victoria, B.C.) would spearhead the third-quarter attack, scoring 2 of the 5 third-quarter goals. He also scored two of the second-quarter goals, which gave him a season-high four goals on the day.
Junior Michael Lampert (Wayland, Mass.) scored early in the fourth quarter to make it 13-6 before DU took their foot off the gas. Merrimack would score the last three goals of the game, but that would just be a formality, with the game well in DU’s grasp at that point.
The final score would be 13-9, which was an important result for DU given their losing streak and tough upcoming road trip.
They will go across the country to face Yale and North Carolina, two powerhouses of the sport. The next time the Crimson and Gold will be in action in Denver will not be until March 19 when they face off against Ohio State.
