OWINGS MILLLS, Md. (March 13, 2022) – The No. 17 Denison University men's lacrosse team played in its first game so far this season against a fellow nationally-ranked team and lost for the first time this season, dropping a hard-fought 10-9 decision on the road at No. 16 Stevenson University on a cold Saturday night. The Big Red started the matchup between two top-20 nationally-ranked teams down 4-1 after the first quarter before scoring three straight goals to tie it at 5-5 with 3:39 left before halftime on a goal by Camden Bowdy. Unfortunately, Stevenson scored a goal in the final minute and a half before the break, and then the Mustangs scored the first three goals of the third quarter to take a 9-5 lead before a goal by Denison's Jack Chace with only 13 seconds left in the period. Down 10-6 in the fourth quarter, Denison cranked up the pressure on both ends of the field and tried to make a run to come back with three goals in a six-minute span, the first two of which were by Ethan Tyack and the third of which was by Luke Fisher with only 2:25 left to play. With 1:24 left, Clyde Bresnahan fired a rocket that was just high of the goal, and then Nate Kay was called in the crease on a shot that would have tied it. In the end, Denison finished with 37 shot attempts compared to 35 for Stevenson while both teams had 22 shots on goal, but it was the one extra save for the Mustangs' goalkeeper that made the difference. Tyack finished with three goals and one assist and Fisher had two goals and two assists. Owen O'Neill led the Big Red with five groundballs while Douglas Brooks finished with two caused turnovers. Denison's goalkeeper, TJ Spahn, finished with 12 saves and gave his team a chance in the end. Denison falls to 3-1 and is now 1-7 all-time against Stevenson since the teams first played against each other in 2009. Stevenson, meanwhile, is now 3-1 overall and 2-1 against ranked opponents. Stevenson was Denison's first game so far this season against a fellow nationally-ranked opponent, but now the Big Red will battle two more of the top teams in the country during the Mustang Classic hosted by Stevenson next weekend. Denison will play against No. 7 the University of Lynchburg at 11 a.m. on Friday, March 18, before concluding the weekend against No. 11 Dickinson College at 6 p.m. on Saturday, March 19.