The No. 2 Georgetown University women’s lacrosse team fell, 12-7, to the No. 3 University of Denver Pioneers in the semifinals of the BIG EAST Championship on Thursday in Gainesville, Florida at Donald R. Dizney Stadium. With the loss, the Hoyas drop to 12-6 overall. “I think Denver had more energy than we did today and they were more consistent,” said Georgetown Head Coach Ricky Fried. “We played hard physically but, at the end of the day, we made too many mistakes.” Sophomore attacker Michaela Bruno (Garden City, N.Y./Garden City) led the way with two goals, while sophomore midfielder Natalia Lynch (Smithtown, N.Y./Smithtown West) managed a goal and 10 draw controls. Eight different Hoyas scored a point in the contest. In the cage, junior Haelle Chomo (Naples, Fla./Barron Collier) managed 15 saves. The Hoyas were outshot, 32-20, but pulled in 13 draw controls to Denver’s (12-5) nine. Turnovers made a difference as the Blue & Gray committed 18, while forcing just nine from the Pioneers. Following a huge save from Chomo, it was junior attacker Taylor Gebhardt (Baldwinsville, N.Y./C.W. Baker) that went low from freshman midfielder Caroline Frock (Westminster, Md./Westminster) to make it 1-0 in the first five minutes of play. The Pioneers answered right back with a tough shot in front of the cage, and then added another to take a 2-1 lead. Following a scoring drought by both squads, Denver managed the goal at 14:22 which resulted in a 5-0 run for the Pioneers. The Hoyas did not stop fighting, as Lynch and Bruno found the back of the cage within the run of play to chip away at the Denver lead. Senior midfielder Racher Rausa (Ambler, Pa./Hatboro-Horsham) added a goal off of a free position shot to cut the lead to one and make it a 3-0 run at the 4:35 mark. Neither team would score in the final minutes as the Blue & Gray went into the break trailing, 5-4. It was Denver that scored first with back-to-back goals early in the second half. Junior attacker Morgan Ryan (Maplewood, N.J./Oak Knoll School) picked the ball up in the middle of the field and sent it long to Bruno streaking down the left side. Bruno made it past one defender and fired a laser into the back of the cage to make it 7-5. A defensive stop from the Hoyas turned into a goal from graduate student Cristina McCarthy (Rockville, Md./Academy of the Holy Cross/James Madison) as Georgetown cut it to one on the following play. Sophomore midfielder Liza Liotta (Baltimore, Md./St. Paul’s School for Girls) then added her first of the game to tie the game at seven as the Hoyas were on a 3-0 run once again. The momentum ended with a Denver goal near the end of the shot clock, and then the Pioneers added three more to make it 11-7. Denver scored one more in the last minute to make the final score, 12-7. The Hoyas will now look for an NCAA Tournament bid. The selection show is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. on Sunday evening. It will air live on NCAA.com.