It was a big week for both Denver men’s and women’s lacrosse. The women’s team clinched the Big East regular season title with a 17-7 win at home against Villanova, while the men’s team was eliminated from the Big East tournament with an 18-11 loss against Marquette.
The women’s team went into their game against Villanova with a three-game win streak and a 4-1 record in the Big East. Villanova also had a 4-1 conference record, staging the battle for the Big East regular season title and the No. 1 seed in the tournament.
Denver rose to the challenge and dominated Villanova. They were on from the start, taking a 5-2 lead at the end of the first frame and closing out the second winning, 9-2. A strong defensive performance led by junior goalkeeper Emelia Bohi saw the Crimson and Gold hold the Wildcats scoreless in the second frame. Bohi made six saves in the game.
Denver held on to their first-half success through the rest of the game to win 17-7. Redshirt junior attacker Raegan Wilson led the offense with a career high of five goals with a hat trick in the first half. She also added two assists.
Sophomore midfielder Olivia Ripple continued her phenomenal season with a hat trick, alongside another hat trick from freshman attacker Eva Thomsen-Marr.
This win completed Denver’s regular season with a 12-5 record, and they clinched their sixth straight Big East regular season title.
Denver will move on to the Big East tournament in Philadelphia, Penn., where they will play No. 4 Georgetown in the semifinal.
On the men’s side, there was no such success. Their loss to Marquette dropped them to the No. 5 seed in the Big East, missing out on one of the four tournament spots.
They started the game with a 3-0 run, but Marquette immediately answered back with a 5-1 run of their own to finish the first quarter leading, 5-4.
This start would be Denver’s only lead of the game, as the Golden Eagles continued to push their advantage. Marquette went up 12-6 midway through the third quarter, holding Denver to eight minutes without a goal.
Denver rallied to score three straight goals to cut the lead to 12-9 early in the fourth quarter. Marquette then shattered their hopes of a comeback, scoring the next five and closing out the game to win, 18-11.
This result caused Marquette to take the No. 4 seed in the Big East Tournament from Denver. They will go on to play No. 1 Georgetown in the first round of the conference tournament, which will be hosted by DU at Peter Barton Stadium.
