It’s official: The University of Denver women’s lacrosse program is elite.
The Pioneers punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight with a dramatic 8-6 win over Albany that featured three ties, two lead changes and a second consecutive hat trick from senior attacker Julia Gilbert.
Hosting an NCAA regional for the first time in program history, the fifth-seeded Pioneers won back-to-back games over the weekend to move to 21-0 and a matchup at fourth-seeded North Carolina (16-4) on Thursday for a spot in the national semifinals. The match will be broadcast on ESPNU at 3 p.m. MDT.
It marks the second time the DU women have reached the quarterfinals, and first time since 2019.
“What a battle. From start to finish, I think both teams left it all on the field,” Denver head coach Liza Kelly said postgame. “Albany was a real fun team to watch on Friday night (in Round 1 vs. Virginia), and we knew they were going to be tough for us to compete against and they sure were. I’m just so proud of (the team) for the perseverance they showed. Just the fight, the heart, the love for each other, I think they really put it out on the field.”
As was the case in Friday’s 10-7 win over Southern Cal, the Pioneers closed things out Sunday with a dominant defensive performance, limiting Albany (13-7) to one goal over the final 26 minutes of action.
The Pioneers outshot the Great Danes 25-18, were 11 of 16 on draw controls and had a 24-14 advantage in ground balls, which was enough to overcome an incredible game from Albany goaltender Grace Cincebox (14 saves).
Gilbert scored two of her three goals in the first period, the second giving DU a 3-0 lead less than 10 minutes into the match. But Albany’s Sarah Faulk, who finished with four goals, authored her own three-goal run to tie things up with five second left in the period. The two teams traded the lead twice after that, with DU eventually seizing control with four straight goals between the end of the third and start of the fourth period — three on free position shots.
The last of Gilbert’s goals, coming off a free position shot for her 56th of the season, tied the game at 5-all with 5:31 left in the third. Sophomore attacker Lauren Black (two goals, one assist) then netted her second goal of the game off another free position shot with 3:37 left to give the Pios the lead for good. Junior attacker Sloane Kipp added her 29th goal of the season right before the buzzer — a score that proved to be the game-winner — and senior attacker Kayla DeRose tacked on another free position shot tally to provide an 8-5 cushion that stood up.
DU goalkeeper Emelia Bohi made two of her six saves in the final frame, helping to clinch the Elite Eight berth a week after she was named the Big East Tournament’s most outstanding player. Albany converted just 2 of 8 free position shots.
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