After beating Johns Hopkins in an overtime classic to start the season, the comeback kids were at it again, winning another thrilling one-goal game against a traditional lacrosse powerhouse, with Cornell falling victim this time. 

Like the season opener against JHU, Denver had to climb out of big holes and show real character to earn the win. The Crimson and Gold were down four goals on two separate occasions, yet they found a way to scratch and claw their way back, which has been the story of their season so far.

This mentality has been instilled this season by Head Coach Matt Brown, who said post-game, “We were tenacious, the guys battled. You don’t necessarily win the games on Saturday, you win them Monday through Thursday [in practice],” he said. 

That mindset has led to DU’s flying start to the season, where they have shown so much character. 

While Denver would find themselves in a hole later, the first quarter was solid with a lot of back-and-forth action. Goals were at a premium, with senior goalie Malcolm Kleban coming up with some big stops. Star senior attacker JJ Sillstrop gave DU a goal with 22 seconds left in the quarter to make it 3-3 after the first quarter. 

After a beautiful team goal scored by senior midfielder Jack Tortolani to give DU the lead early in the second, Cornell would begin to take over. The Big Red scored six of the next eight goals to take a 9-6 halftime lead. A goal by Spencer Wirtheim with eight seconds left in the half was a particularly big gut punch to take after senior defenseman AJ Mercurio scored a goal moments earlier to temporarily cut the lead to two. 

The third quarter was defined by runs where both teams went back and forth like a tug of war. Early in the quarter Cornell extended their lead to four goals, which seemed like it put the game out of reach, but as Brown put it, “You are never out of it in this sport, which we are thankful for.” 

Denver showed that, by scoring three straight goals in under three minutes to cut the lead to one. Two of those goals were scored by junior attacker Noah Manning, who was at the heart of the comeback. Manning scored five goals on the day, all of which were in the second half. 

“We are a never-say-die team, it doesn’t matter how many goals we are down. We can be down five or 10, it doesn’t matter, we are going to stick to our game plan and fight until the last buzzer,” he said.

Cornell responded to Denver’s run with three straight goals of their own to lay down the gauntlet. Denver would accept the challenge, scoring the last two goals of the third quarter and the first two of the fourth quarter to tie the game.

A big part of the comeback was senior faceoff specialist Alec Stathakis repeatedly winning his draws in the second half. He went 22/37 on faceoffs on the day, which gave the Crimson and Gold a huge edge. Manning called Stathakis “the best faceoff guy in the country.”

After Cornell retook the lead, Denver struck back with three straight goals to make it 17-15, a lead they would never relinquish. Denver tied the game on a goal from Manning and took the lead on a goal by senior long-stick midfielder Ryan Giles, which came in transition following a faceoff win. Those goals had a poetic quality to them and told the story of the game for Denver.

Senior attacker Richie Connell scored with just under five minutes left, and while they wouldn’t score again, they put on a defensive masterclass those last five minutes, shutting down Cornell’s attacks. After Cornell scored with one minute and 43 seconds left, Denver’s rugged defense shut the door and won the game for the Crimson and Gold.

The 17-16 win is Denver’s first-ever victory against Cornell and a massive statement of intent moving forward into the season. After two famous victories in the first four games, this team has the chance to do something special in their first year in the post-Bill Tierney era. 

Their next game is at home against Le Moyne College on Saturday at 7 p.m.