The Denver Pioneers (9-1, 7-0) beat the Marquette Golden Eagles (5-8, 2-5) 16-6 at Valley Fields Friday to stay unbeaten in BIG EAST play.
The first half was a much different story than what the final score ended up being. The game was tied at half time, 5-5, after senior attacker Lindsey Hill scored in the last 30 seconds assisted by redshirt senior Megan Menzuber. Five different players scored all five goals on both sides, while graduate student Kailey Conry had two assists for the Pioneers. Hill and Menzuber both had a goal and assist, each.
The second half was dominated by the Pioneers, going on a 11-0 run in the second half before redshirt freshman Leigh Steiner stopped the bleeding with a goal with less than four minutes left in the game. Two players for Denver had hat tricks in the second half alone, with senior attackers Bea Behrins and Eliza Radonchonski each having those three goals. Radonchonski lead the Pioneers with four total goals, while Behrins came in second with three goals.
It was a mediocre game for senior Sophia Leva as she had a strong first half where she had six saves on 11 shots on goal. The second half wasn’t kind to Leva either, as she made two saves on 13 shots on goal in the second half.
The Denver netminder had a solid game, making seven saves on 13 shots on goal for the game. She made four of seven saves in the first half, but only faced four shots on goal in the second half.
Leading goal scorer and senior attacker Caroline Stellar was held scoreless in this game, with two shots hitting iron. It was the first time since Feb. 21, 2020 that Stellar failed to score a goal. Stellar has also never scored a goal in three career games against Denver and just got her first career point against the Pioneers on her assist to senior Hannah Greving in the first half.
Penalties were an issue for the Golden Eagles in the second half as well, as they allowed three powerplay goals on a Pioneer 11-0 run.
The two teams will meet again on Sunday for game two of the weekend series at 1 p.m. Central Standard Time.
This story was written by Jackson Gross. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @JacksonGross.
