Buzzer-beating excitement for this year’s installment of How the West was Won in NCAA Division I men’s lacrosse.

Connor Cannizzaro scored at the buzzer to lift No. 5 Denver to an 11-10 win over No. 1 Notre Dame Sunday before the host Pioneers’ 19th consecutive sellout at Peter Barton Stadium Sunday. The 2016 Tewaaraton Award finalist, one of four Denver players to tally two goals and an assist in the team’s fourth straight win over its fellow Western ambassadors for the sport, received a pass at goal-line extended on the left side, stumbled briefly, drove behind the goal and bounced the game-winner past goalie Shane Doss as time expired to send the Fighting Irish to their first defeat.

”We drew up a play and when that didn’t pan out like we wanted it to, I saw E-Walk (freshman Ethan Walker) get the ball and I was just calling for it,” Cannizzaro said, as reported by The Denver Post. “It was kind of funny — I dropped it, and I knew there was just like three or four seconds left and I was just going to try to get a shot off. It worked out in the end and it was just a great win for our team.”

Five of the six previous matchups between these two had gone to overtime, and an extra frame appeared necessary after Tyler Pace scored an extra-men (two Irish in the box) goal with 2:51 to play, negating a longstanding 10-9 Notre Dame lead delivered some seven minutes earlier by Sergio Perkovic. But the Pioneers had multiple failed cracks at sealing the decision in overtime before Cannizzaro’s heroics sent the 2,656 into a frenzy.

Trevor Baptiste won 19 of 24 faceoffs for the Pioneers, who negated some of his success by turning the ball over four times in a fourth quarter that saw neither team lead by more than a goal. For his part, Doss otherwise was stellar with 13 saves. Ryder Gurney had two goals and four assists to lead Notre Dame, which will try to rebound during a Saturday night affair at Virginia on ESPNU.

The Pioneers, knocked from the perch last week by North Carolina, hit the road for the first time this season Sunday at Ohio State.

Nike/US Lacrosse Division I Top 20 Scoreboard

No. 5 Denver 11, No. 1 Notre Dame 10

No. 9 Colorado women use 11-1 run to hand host No. 6 Penn State first loss

Perhaps the season’s most surprising stampede rolled through State College, Pa., Sunday, albeit after a slow start.

No. 9 Colorado rallied from a 7-3 first-half deficit behind the strength of an 11-1 run to stun No. 6 Penn State, 16-11, in NCAA Division I women’s lacrosse. The Buffaloes, in their fourth season playing varsity, dispatched one of the nation’s recent stalwart programs thanks to career-highs five goals and four assists from sophomore Miranda Stinson and four goals by Darby Kiernan.

Exploits from those two aside, the Buffaloes’ game-changing run was fueled by goals from six different players. And goalie Paige Soenksen, who entered as the division’s leader in save percentage, turned away 16 Penn State shots to keep Colorado unbeaten at 7-0.

”Penn State has started fast in all their games this season,” said Colorado head coach Ann Elliott. “I knew if we could not give up and keep it close in the first half we could have a shot in the second half.”

The Buffaloes return home for three straight against Winthrop, Oregon and Fresno State — surely an opportunity to improve on their best-ever start.

Nike/US Lacrosse Division I Top 20 Scoreboard

No. 9 Colorado 16, No. 5 Penn State 11
No. 19 Towson 22, Stetson 5
No. 20 Denver 14, Vermont 4

Nike/US Lacrosse Division II Men’s Top 20 Scoreboard

No. 6 Mount Olive 7, No. 18 Rollins 6
No. 8 Mercyhurst 11, Wheeling Jesuit 6

Nike/US Lacrosse Division II Women’s Top 20 Scoreboard

No. 3 Le Moyne 10, No. 9 Mercyhurst 7
No. 18 New Haven 11, Tiffin 10
No. 19 Pace 14, No. 12 Grand Valley State 9

Nike/US Lacrosse Division III Women’s Top 20 Scoreboard

No. 1 Middleburg 15, No. 10 Tufts 6