On Thursday, the Denver women’s lacrosse team made the short journey to play in Boulder against the University of Colorado Buffaloes. All the way through the game was evenly matched.
Denver came out hot with three goals in the first quarter, but Colorado managed to score a pair of goals to get itself on the scoreboard. Denver and CU went goal for goal in the second quarter to give Denver a single-goal lead going into the second half.
Denver’s defense was on full display in the second half of the game with huge saves from Freshman goalie Lexi Gwaku. The attack unit also helped Denver to maintain their lead over the Buffaloes.
Freshman midfielder Caroline Bowers had a pair of goals in the third quarter to make the score 8-6 going into the final quarter. With high pressure from the Buffs, Denver managed to run the last few minutes of the clock down to secure a 9-8 win in Boulder.
Denver took the momentum from Thursday’s game and used it to demolish Big East opponent Butler University, 21-3, increasing their winning streak to three.
Sophomore midfielder Olivia Ripple got the game started with a goal assisted by senior attacker Raegan Wilson, but Denver did not stop there. Senior attacker Lauren Black scored a pair of goals and graduate attacker Maddie Montgomery scored her first DU career goal. Freshman draw specialist Alex Dorr earned her 100th season draw control in the first quarter as well.
Going into the second quarter with a 5-1 lead, Denver did not let up, with two fast goals, both assisted by Black. At 10:15, Ripple found Bowers wide open in the eight-meter arc to further extend Denver’s lead. At 9:35, freshman midfielder Maggie Myers scored her first collegiate goal assisted by Black. Denver ended the first half with a 14-1 lead against the Bulldogs.
Butler got the second half going with a free-position goal to put another point on the board. At 8:44, Ripple got the ball from Wilson and fired to the top left of the goal to score her 47th goal of the season. With another pair of goals for Black and a single goal scored by senior attacker Mollie Estepp, Denver headed into the final quarter with a massive lead of 18-2.
Freshman goalie Lauren Hall stepped in between the pipes to start the fourth quarter for Denver. Denver managed to score another three goals to finish the game at 21-3 against the Big East competitors.
Highlights: With fourteen draw controls, Dorr now holds the single-game draw control record for Denver, three more draw controls than her previous personal best. Black ended the game against Butler with a season high of nine points, with five goals and four assists.
Denver looks to increase their winning season this week at home against Villanova. The game will be played on Saturday at 12 p.m. at Peter Barton Stadium.
