The action came quickly with Eliza Radesonski opening up the scoring for the Denver Pioneers only 36 seconds into the match. Even as Standard tried to work their way back into the match halfway through the first quarter behind 6-4, Denver was able to rattle off 6 more goals before the end of the first. One of them came from Freshman, Julia Gilbert, playing in her first match wearing the Crimson and Gold.
Being a freshman on a highly acclaimed team can be nerve-wracking reports Gilbert, but with the support of her team, she was able to rise to the occasion. She looks forward to contributing even more as the season progresses. She notes that their “win over Standard is just the beginning for the DU women’s lacrosse team.”
Ending the half with a 12-5 lead, Denver looked like they are on track for another groundbreaking season. The harsh snowy elements forced practice, the previous day, to be shifted indoors, yet it seemly had no impact on their first 30 minutes of play.
Although Stanford desperately tried to stay in the game by netting one goal with seconds to go in the first and coming out fighting in the second half with Junior Katherine Gjertsen making quit cuts to goal and getting the Cardinals on the board early. It was not enough to silence the dynamic duo of Juniors Bea Behrins and Hannah Liddy each contributing 3 goals. Liddy, with her back to the net, is able to fake the defender enough to give herself some room for a no-look goal as she dives towards to ground with 14.53 to play in the game, bringing up the score to 17-9.
Another unbelievable effort from Big East Offensive Player of the Year, Quintin Hoch-Bullen as she begins her junior year with 5 goals and 1 assist.
Hoch-Bullen accredits the success to making adjustments quickly and executing their game plan accordingly.
After losing three All-Big East First team members, staying as strong as they were could be difficult. However, Hoch-Bullen shares “A lot of people have stepped into new roles and are really embracing it! Our team has so much potential and we all believe in each other so much.”
Even with Stanford ending the game with four unanswered goals, it was not enough to weaken the tough Denver defense with Senior goalie Carson Gregg having 14 saves on the day.
After recording a program history finish by making it into the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament, it puts a lot of pressure on Denver to maintain their elite status. Many players will be returning to the roster and two players nabbing All-American acclaim in the preseason polls should give a good indication that their potential this season remains high.
“If we play every game like we did today, I think we will be very successful this year” noted Behrins.
Denver will start their season undefeated at 1-0, while Stanford begins at 0-1.
Instead of snow, the Denver Pioneers will face off in the prospective rain against the Louisville Cardinals, as they head to Kentucky for their next contest.
The MFJS Reporter -- Winter 2020 M-W 