Michigan
4-2
Denver
4-3
Michigan Rallies, but Unable to Overcome Denver to Start Road Trip
3/5/2025 5:18:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse
» Denver upset No. 5 Michigan 13-11 in a midweek contest at Peter Martin Lacrosse Stadium.
» Jill Smith had six points (four goals, two assists) and added six draw-control wins.
» Kaylee Dyer and Ava Class scored two goals each.
» Freshman Emma Burke won nine draw controls.
» Erin O'Grady tied a career-best 13 saves.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- After battling back from as many as a four-goal deficit, the No. 5 University of Michigan women's lacrosse team was unable to push its way past Denver in a 13-11 loss Wednesday afternoon (March 5) at Peter Martin Lacrosse Stadium.
The Wolverines (4-2) came back from a four-goal deficit with senior Jill Smith scoring three straight goals to bring Michigan within one and a last-second goal at the end of the third quarter from Ava Class tied the game at eight. The teams traded goals in the fourth quarter, with U-M taking the lead twice before the Pioneers (4-3) went on a three-goal run to secure the victory.
Smith led Michigan with six points (four goals, two assists), while Class and Kaylee Dyer scored two goals each and Caroline Byrd collected two assists. Junior Calli Norris and sophomore Emma Bradbury each added one goal and an assist.
Michigan won the draw 16-9 with Emma Burke winning nine draw controls and Smith adding six wins. In the cage, senior Erin O'Grady tied a career best with 13 saves.
Denver opened the game on a 3-0 run before Norris brought U-M within two on a free position with 8:39 left in the first quarter. The Pioneers answered three minutes later and took a 4-1 lead into the second quarter.
Dyer netted back-to-back goals with one free-position tally in the second quarter to bring the Wolverines within two, 5-3, with 9:32 remaining in the half. Denver scored a pair of goals to extend its lead to four, but it was all Michigan in the closing five minutes as two goals in 42 seconds helped Michigan to close the gap to just two, 7-5, going into the halftime break.
U-M dominated the draw control in the first half 10-3 with Burke winning six and Smith winning three, while Michigan put 10 of its 16 shots on cage.
The Wolverines pulled within one when Smith drew a card and buried the free-position goal with 10:25 left in the third quarter. With 6:20 left in the game, O'Grady made a huge kick save and rushed the ball upfield and Smith netted her third straight goal to knot the game at seven in the third quarter.
Denver took the lead back, but a mishandle by the Pioneer goalie allowed Michigan to regain possession it its offensive end with three seconds left in the third quarter. Byrd picked up the ball and passed it to Class in front of the cage, and she fired a shot into the back of the cage as the teams went into the final quarter tied at eight.
Class netted her second of the game less than two minutes into the fourth quarter when Norris dumped the ball into Class as she cut across the middle to give U-M its first lead of the game. Denver tied the score at nine and Michigan won the ensuing draw to take the 10-9 lead on a Julia Schwabe goal off a pass from Smith.
The Pioneers scored three straight times and took a 13-10 lead with 5:12 to play. Smith netted her fourth goal of the game on a free position to bring U-M within two with 3:06 remaining in the contest. Michigan kept possession following the goal off a Denver card but was unable to find the back of the cage again.
U-M concludes its trip to the Centennial State on Saturday (March 8) at noon MT when it takes on Colorado at Kittredge Field. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
