Division I Men :      April 22, 2007 [ The Game Story]
Denver 9 Ohio State 10 Scoring: Scoring: Joey Murray Jon Paulson Ryan Shaughnessy Brandon Barcus Ryan Zordani Kyle Widerstedt (3, 1) (2, 0) (2, 0) (1, 0) (0, 1) (1, 0) Mario Ventiquattro Jeff Ryan Ben Drake James Green Kevin Buchanan Joel Dalgarno Brian Lalley (3, 1) (2, 2) (1, 3) (3, 0) (1, 1) (0, 1) (0, 1) Saves: Saves: Jeb Hollingsworth 10  (0.500) Stefan Schroder 7  (0.438) Current Record :     (7-7) Current Record :     (8-4) Team Page For 2007 Team Page For 2007       The Game Story: DENVER - Sophomore Joey Murray (Denver) recorded a hat trick and senior Jeb Hollingsworth (Darien, Conn.) accounted for 10 saves, but it was not enough, as the University of Denver men's lacrosse team fell in overtime to Great Western Lacrosse League foe Ohio State, 10-9, Sunday afternoon at Barton Lacrosse Stadium in front of a sellout crowd of 2,019. Trailing 9-7 with less then two minutes left in regulation, Murray ripped off two goals for DU, including the game-tying goal with 00:36 left on the clock. Hollingsworth stopped a one-on-one shot by OSU's Joel Dalgarno to keep the Buckeyes off the board and send the game to overtime. DU (7-7, 2-2 GWLL) controlled the ball for most of overtime, getting off three shots. Hollingsworth came up with another huge save, this one with under a minute remaining but with 00:11 left in overtime, Mario Ventiquattro beat Hollingsworth to give the Buckeyes (8-4, 4-0 GWLL) the win. In the fourth quarter, senior Ryan Shaughnessy (Columbus, Ohio) closed the Pioneers within two, but OSU's James Green recorded his third goal of the game to put the Buckeyes back up three. Shaughnessy notched his second goal of the contest to pull DU within two, again, at 8:40 remaining. Ventiquarttro pushed OSU's lead back to three before junior Jon Paulson (Flemington, N.J.) pulled DU with two prior to Murray's run at the end of the game. Trailing 5-1 at half, DU came out of the locker room to start the third quarter and ripped off three consecutive goals, including sophomore Kyle Weiderstedt's (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) first goal of the season. OSU's Ben Drake recorded his second goal of the game at 3:59 to give the Buckeyes a 7-4 lead. The Buckeyes jumped on the board first but Paulson, on a pass from Murray, got past Ohio State goalie Stefan Schroder to tie the game. OSU's defense held the Pioneers scoreless for the final 23:25 of the half, despite DU having control of the ball for just less than four minutes late in the second quarter. Ohio State's offense tallied four unanswered goals in the half. Murray led the way for DU with four points, while Shaughnessy and Paulson had two points each. The Pioneers wrap-up their home 2007 season on Saturday, April 28 at 7:30 p.m. against instate rival Air Force. The contest will mark senior day for 11 Pioneer seniors and be televised on FSN-Rocky Mountain. The game can also be followed on www.denverpioneers.com.

On a gorgeous Denver Sunday afternoon, a star was born. Unfortunately for the University of Denver Pioneers, it was on the visiting Ohio State Buckeyes' roster.

With time expiring in overtime, OSU freshman attackman Mario Ventiquattro helped piggyback the Buckeyes to the top spot in their division (4-0) with a career day and game-winning goal with 11 seconds remaining. The win also ensures that the Pioneers will not be making an encore performance at the NCAA tournament - at least not this season.

For two teams headed in entirely different directions, the rivals' twelfth meeting was the only true common ground shared as the Great Western Lacrosse League (GWLL) foes battled to an extra frame in front of over 2,000 fans at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium.

OSU was led to the thrilling victory on the sticks of Ventiquattro (3 goals, 1 assist), who nearly doubled his point total on the year with his efforts in the game, along with fellow freshman, midfielder James Green (3, 0) and sophomore attackman, Jeff Ryan (2, 2). Junior transfer (Onodaga C.C.) Stefan Schroder also came up with seven huge stops in net, including one in OT, in route to the team's fourth consecutive league victory.

The Buckeyes were very energized from the onset. Their sidelines were extremely vocal throughout the game, and they played with a sense of passion and vigor that the Pioneers were rarely able match.

On their way to a dominating first half performance, OSU got off to a quick start that saw them take a 5-1 lead into the break. The Scarlet and Gray then withstood two second half 3-0 runs by the Pioneers to eventually gut out their second conference road win in three days.

It was apparent that the Buckeyes came in knowing exactly what they would need to do to stay unbeaten in league play and afford the Pioneers their fourth loss at home this season. They were well prepared for everything Denver threw at them, from their usually exceptionally effective zone ride, to a large assortment of defensive looks and varied offensive sets.

The two teams exchanged goals early with Ohio State singeing twine first on a backside sneak by Ryan, who then beat the Denver goalie, senior Jeb Hollingsworth, with a bounce shot to his stick-side.

OSU took a 2-1 lead after Ryan recorded his second goal about three minutes later on a play that was almost identical to the first, this time assisted by the team's leader in points, Joel Dalgarno (22, 21). Although Dalgarno played a tremendous role as the quarterback of the Buckeye offense, today was not his day as he twanged all three of his shots on goal off of the pipe, making the assist his only tally on the score sheet.

From there, the game was a bit of a chess match between the two coaching staffs that left the crowd somewhat bored, almost begging for someone to blink first. The Pioneers were willing to play a no-pressure zone on defense that allowed Ohio State to simply possess the ball at 'X' and pose no real threat. Ohio State was content just holding the ball, taking several stalling calls, and holding the ball behind the goal until time was limited for a couple unsuccessful final shots in the first and second quarters.

In the end, this probably hurt DU the most because they were already behind and needed possessions to close the gap, and because the lack of action took Pioneer fans out of the game more and more as time passed, which then did not provide any sort of spark for Denver when they desperately needed one to jumpstart their offense.

The second half was a stark contrast to the first as Denver reinvigorated the audience and immediately went on their first of two 3-0 runs, possessing the ball for almost eight straight minutes and cutting the OSU lead to one, 5-4.

The Buckeyes finally got a crack at some offense with their first extended possession coming with about seven minutes remaining in the third quarter. They answered DU's output with back-to-back goals to close out the quarter up 7-4.

Two of Denver's midfielders, senior Ryan Shaughnessy (2, 0) and sophomore Joey Murray (3, 1), tried their absolute best to will their team to the win, each scoring two goals in the fourth quarter. Murray's second of the quarter, third on the day, with 36 seconds in regulation tied the game up (9-9) for the first time since the eight and a half minute mark of the first quarter (1-1), and sent the game to overtime.

But Ohio State seemed to have the answer every time. Although Denver took their momentum and the crowd's roaring support into the OT on their side, and even got off three high-quality shots in the extra time, the game was always the Buckeyes to lose.

Off of a turnover, one of Ohio State's defenseman caught Denver in transition, ran the ball down the field to clear, made a pass to midfielder Josh Funk, who then found Ryan waiting for the pass. Ryan briefly danced in front of DU senior defenseman David Hahn, and then found Ventiquattro on Hollingsworth's backside before he dove and stuffed it home to seal up the victory, 10-9.

While Ventiquattro bolted to his sideline and his team stormed the field in sheer delight, Denver's defense sat on the ground dejected with their heads down realizing their season, and any chance of postseason play, was just lost.

The win improves Ohio State's record to 8-4 on the season, while Denver, who never once led in the game, again falls to .500 at 7-7.

Up next for the Buckeyes is the game for all the marbles, as they host another league rival, No.13-ranked Notre Dame on Saturday, April 28 at 1 p.m. The winner of the game will almost certainly win the GWLL and therefore, represent the conference with the automatic qualifier in the NCAA tournament.

Finally, Ohio State will welcome the Army Black Knights to Columbus on May 6 in a game that could have at-large bid implications for both teams.

Denver will finish out its disappointing season with a Saturday evening game against in-state rival Air Force at 7:30 p.m., followed by a trip to Philadelphia on May 5, as they close out the year against the always-tough Quakers of the University of Pennsylvania.

Photos: Tim Head