The University of Denver men’s lacrosse team (6-6, 1-2 GWLL) fell 10-8 in a heartbreaker to the No. 4 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (10-0, 3-0 GWLL) on Saturday afternoon before a crowd of 2,071 at Invesco Field at Mile High in the Sixth Annual Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Showdown.
The Fighting Irish led by as many as three, but Denver engineered a comeback to tie the score 8-8 with just minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. In the final two minutes of play, however, the Irish scored two quick goals to put the Pioneers away for good. It was the first NCAA Division I Men’s Lacrosse game to be played at Invesco Field.
Denver received offensive help from sophomore Andrew Lay (Denver, Colo.) and freshman Mark Matthews (Oshawa, Ontario), who each had two goals. Sophomore Brendan Deblois (Narragansett, R.I.) led the Pioneers with nine ground balls on the day, while sophomore Todd Baxter (Eden Prarie, Minn.) added two assists and a goal.
“We were tied 8-8 with just a couple minutes left in the game and had the ball on offense: you can’t ask for a better opportunity to win the game,” said head coach Jamie Munro. “It’s a tough loss, but the guys played hard though, and I’m proud of them.”
Denver opened the scoring early at the 12:54 mark when Lay found the back of the net on an unassisted strike for his eighth goal of the year. Notre Dame answered midway through the first quarter when junior Grant Krebs equalized on an assist from senior Duncan Swezey.
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