Denver’s Defense Holds Off No. 25 Marquette 12-5

Next Game:

vs. Villanova

5/5/2023 | 11 A.M. MT or 2 P.M. MT

May. 05 (Fri) / 11 A.M. MT or 2 P.M. MT

vs. Villanova

History { element.remove(); }); } else{ let elementsToRemove = document.querySelectorAll(‘.postgame_3_nextgame’); elementsToRemove.forEach(element => { element.remove(); }); } ]]> MILWAUKEE, Wis. – The No. 3 University of Denver women’s lacrosse team won the Big East Conference regular season championship on Saturday, as the Pioneers defeated the No. 24 Marquette Golden Eagles at the Valley Fields bubble.
 
Denver earned its fourth-straight Big East regular-season title and the 10th such championship in program history. The Pioneers also won the Big East in 2019, 2021 and 2022 (not awarded in 2020) and earned six such trophies in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2013, 2014).
 
The victory also completes the first undefeated regular season in Denver women’s lacrosse history (17-0, 6-0 Big East), and the team’s current 17-game winning streak is now tied for the longest in the program’s record book as well (2014).
 
Saturday’s contest was the de facto regular-season championship as both DU and MU entered with perfect 5-0 records in league play. Denver’s nationally top-rated defense held the NCAA’s third-scoring offense to single-digit goals for the first time this season, as the Pioneers shutout the Eagles (15-2, 5-1 Big East) in both the first and fourth quarters and only allowed one goal in the second half.
 
Senior defender Sam Thacker led the Pioneers with six caused turnovers, while adding four ground balls and posting a team-high three draw controls. Graduate student Trinity McPherson led the Pios with five ground balls and had one draw control and one caused turnover.
 
Sophomore goalkeeper Emelia Bohi stopped 10 shots and posted a .667 save percentage. It was the second-most saves in a game in her career, as she also denied four of Marquette’s five free-position attempts on the afternoon.
 
The Pioneers were up 3-0 after the first quarter and led 5-1 four minutes into the second frame before the Eagles tallied the half’s final three markers to cut their deficit to 5-4 at the intermission. Denver responded with a three-goal run of its own to begin the third quarter and added four more markers in the fourth to secure the end result.
 
Sophomore Lauren Black had a Pioneer-high four points on three goals and one assist, and senior Julia Gilbert registered a three-point performance with two markers and one helper. Both of senior midfielder Ellie Curry’s two tallies came in the final 30 minutes of play, and grad student Kayla DeRose posted a multi-point effort as well (1g/1a).
 
Sophomores Caroline Colimore and Mollie Estepp and junior Sloane Kipp also scored, and DU also received an own goal by Marquette with 21 seconds left in the first quarter.
 
Denver held a 35-21 advantage in total shots and won the ground-ball battle, 23-20, while forcing Marquette into turning the ball over 27 times.
 
UP NEXT: The Pioneers will be the top-seed for next weekend’s Big East Conference Tournament in Storrs, Connecticut. DU will play fourth-seeded Villanova in the semifinals on Friday at 2 p.m. MT while Marquette will be the second seed and face host No. 23 UConn earlier in the day. The championship game is Sunday at 10 a.m. MT and will be nationally televised on Fox Sports 2.
 
 
NOTES

• Denver improved to 8-0 all-time against Marquette and 7-0 in Big East play.
• DU finished 6-0 in league play and has won 27 consecutive games in Big East competition dating back to April 28, 2018.
• The Pioneers have scored double-digit goals in 11-straight games and did not allow a team to tally more than nine goals against them during the regular season. DU outscored Big-East foes by a 100-30 overall margin in six outings.
• Denver is now averaging just 5.76 goals against per game.
• Marquette was held scoreless in the first quarter for the first time all season.
• The Golden Eagles entered the contest with the third-best offense in the country, averaging 17.12 goals per game.
• Sam Thacker’s six caused turnovers tied a career high (Feb. 20, 2022 at California) and were tied for the seventh-most in a game in school history and two shy of the record of eight.
• Lauren Black scored a hat trick for the third-straight game.
• Julia Gilbert scored in all 17 games during the regular season, and Ellie Curry extended her point streak to 12-straight contests.
• Emelia Bohi posted her second career double-digit save performance (12 saves on Feb. 18, 2023 at Colorado).
• The Pioneers enter the Big East Tournament with a 7-3 all-time record in the conference postseason and have won the last two titles, including last year as the host at Peter Barton Stadium in Denver.

 
SCORING SUMMARY
First Quarter
13:41 DU (1-0) – Julia Gilbert, unassisted
8:50 DU (2-0) – Lauren Black, unassisted (UP)
0:21 DU (3-0) – Marquette own goal, unassisted
 
Second Quarter
14:16 MU (3-1) – Hannah Greving, assisted by Lydia Foust
13:13 DU (4-1) – Mollie Estepp, assisted by Lauren Black
11:01 DU (5-1) – Kayla DeRose, assisted by Julia Gilbert (UP)
10:39 MU (5-2) – Hannah Greving, assisted by Meg Bireley
8:10 MU (5-3) – Meg Bireley, assisted by Mary Schumar
3:02 MU (5-4) – Emma Soccodato (FPS)
 
Third Quarter
11:23 DU (6-4) – Sloane Kipp, unassisted
5:33 DU (7-4) – Lauren Black (FPS)
4:09 DU (8-4) – Ellie Curry, assisted by Kayla DeRose
3:26 MU (8-5) – Shea Garcia, assisted by Mary Schumar
 
Fourth Quarter
13:27 DU (9-5) – Ellie Curry, unassisted
6:05 DU (10-5) – Julia Gilbert, assisted by Charlotte Boote
2:03 DU (11-5) – Lauren Black, unassisted (UP)
1:04 DU (12-5) – Caroline Colimore, unassisted
 
 
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