Michigan
6-0
Denver
4-1
Michigan Tops No. 9 Denver with Four Goals in Closing Minutes
2/26/2019 5:40:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse
» The Wolverines are 6-0 after taking down three straight ranked opponents.
» Michigan scored four unanswered goals in the closing six minutes to earn the win.
» Chandler Kirby scored the game-winner and the security goal to lock up the victory.
» Michigan will return home for a four-game stretch starting Sunday (March 3) against Cincinnati.
Site: Denver, Colo. (Peter Barton Field)
Score: #20 Michigan 12, #9 Denver 10
Records: U-M (6-0), Denver (4-1)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, March 3 -- vs. Cincinnati (U-M Lacrosse Stadium), 1 p.m.
DENVER, Colo. -- Using a four-goal run in the final six and a half minutes of the game, the No. 20 University of Michigan women's lacrosse team took down No. 9 Denver, 12-10, on Tuesday afternoon (Feb. 26) at Peter Barton Field. With the win, the Wolverines have defeated three ranked opponents -- Denver and No. 14 Colorado (Feb. 24) -- over the span of a week, making it just the second and fourth time in program history that Michigan had beaten a ranked opponent.
With the Wolverines trailing 10-8, sophomore Erin Daly started the Michigan scoring run, netting a woman-up goal to bring the Wolverines within one, 10-9, with 6:25 on the clock. Junior Nadine Stewart completed her second career hat trick three minutes later to knot the game at 10 with 3:41 remaining in regulation, and sophomore Chandler Kirby scored the game-winner (2:54) and security goal (1:37). The Wolverines won one final draw control and forced a Denver turnover with 1:06 to go before draining the clock for the victory.
"I am extremely proud of the girls for their efforts today," said head coach Hannah Nielsen. "Being a couple of goals down for most of the game, we could have put our heads down, but we never gave up. They played hard and they played together for the full 60 minutes.
"From top to bottom, this was a full team effort today, and we are happy to leave Colorado with two big wins."
Senior Adriana Pendino and Stewart led the Michigan scoring attack with three goals each, marking their third and second hat tricks this season, respectively. Junior Lilly Grass had a multi-point performance with three assists and one goal, while sophomore Caitlin Muir had two assists.
The Wolverines forced the Pioneers into 13 turnovers and had seven caused turnovers while committing just nine. The Maize and Blue also outshot Denver, 33-21, putting 20 shots on goal. Denver held a 13-11 draw control edge.
Senior Gabby Burns and Daly won three draw controls apiece for the Wolverines, and senior Casey Cummo picked up four ground balls to go along with two caused turnovers. In goal, Mira Shane earned her sixth victory of the season with four saves.
Denver opened the scoring with two straight goals before Michigan responded with two of its own to knot the score at 2 at the 8:44 mark of the first half. Minutes later, the Pioneers went up, 3-2, but again the Maize and Blue scored back-to-back goals -- this time over a span of 36 seconds, including Stewart's second of the game -- to earn its first advantage of the game, 4-3, with 16:19 remaining in the half.
Denver netted three unanswered goals to put the Pioneers ahead, 6-4, heading into halftime. Michigan and Denver each took 13 shots in the opening 30 minutes, with the Denver converting one of its three free-position opportunities.
Michigan opened the second half peppering the Denver goal but struggling to put one in until Pendino earned a free-position attempt with 21:38 remaining in the game, burying the goal and bringing U-M within one, 6-5, with 21:28 left in the second half.
The teams exchanged goal with Denver quickly going back up by two and Pendino recording her third goal of the game to bring Michigan within one again, 7-6. The Pioneers scored two straight goals to take a 9-6 lead with just under 15 minutes to play. Sophomore Maggie Kane and freshman Kaitlyn Mead scored goals over the next three minutes to draw the Wolverines within one, 9-8, before Denver added a woman-up goal to make the score 10-8 and set up the final six-minute sequence.
The Wolverines return to U-M Lacrosse Stadium for four straight home games, beginning Sunday (March 3) at 1 p.m. when they play host to Cincinnati at U-M Lacrosse Stadium. [ Tickets ]
