Sunday Wrap: Denver Upsets Ohio State, Gray Ties Fields for No. 4 in Points

A short five-game Sunday slate capped a weekend in Division I men’s lacrosse that saw Maryland assert itself as the No. 1 team in the nation on Saturday.

A top-10 upset and a handful of tight games highlight the action from Sunday.

DENVER DIGS OUT OF FOUR-GOAL HOLE

Denver recently fell outside of the Nike/USA Lacrosse Division I Men’s Top 20 after losses in consecutive weeks to North Carolina and Yale. A win over No. 8 Ohio State on Sunday might do just enough to get the Pios back in.

Denver dug itself out of a four-goal hole and flipped the script with a seven-goal third quarter. Richie Connell scored four goals, Jack Hannah had three goals and one assist and JJ Sillstrop had one goal and three assists as the Pios earned a 14-12 win against the host Buckeyes.

Down 6-2, Denver (4-4) scored four straight second-quarter goals to tie the score. Ohio State (5-2) got the final goal of the first half from the stick of Jackson Reid.

A quick one-goal lead for Denver was quickly erased, as was a two-goal lead that the Pios then built a few minutes later. After Ed Shean tied it at 10 for Ohio State, Denver scored three in a row — one each by Hannah, Connell and Alec Stathakis.

Goals from Mitchell Pehlke and Jason Knox cut Denver’s lead to 13-12 with 8:48 to play, but the Denver defense held strong and Hannah scored with 2:17 left for insurance.

TAR HEELS TOUGH IT OUT

Chris Gray scored four goals and tied Connor Fields for No. 1 all time in points (364) as No. 10 North Carolina came from behind to top High Point 14-12.

UNC (6-2) trailed 9-8 after Michael Ippolito scored with 10:26 left in the third quarter for High Point (4-4). The Tar Heels then initiated a 6-0 run that spanned nearly 16 minutes, with Cole Herbert, Lance Tillman and Gray each scoring twice.

That put the Tar Heels ahead 14-9 with 6:22 remaining, and although High Point scored the last three goals — all coming from Brayden Mayea — UNC held on.

High Point was 3-for-8 on extra man opportunities and just 1-for-4 in the fourth quarter.

NOTABLE

Canisius improved to 2-6 (1-0 MAAC) after Hunter Parucki scored what proved to be the winning goal in a 9-8 win over Siena (2-6, 0-1 MAAC). Keegan Kozack had three goals and one assist for the Griffs, while Siena’s Christian Watts led all scorers with four goals. Johnny Richiusa went 17-for-20 on faceoffs.
Ryan Lanchbury’s two goals and four assists paced Richmond (4-3) in a 14-9 win over UMBC (2-3) at Robins Stadium in Virginia. Ryan Dunn had three goals and one assist. Richmond outshot UMBC 40-22, and the Spiders forced the Retrievers into 21 turnovers.

HOW THE NIKE/USAL TOP 20 FARED

Denver defeated No. 8 Ohio State 14-12
No. 10 North Carolina defeated High Point 14-12
No. 18 Delaware defeated No. 12 Johns Hopkins 12-10

FULL SCOREBOARD