Miller ends showdown, gives Pioneers 19th straight win
Denver survives late rally, hands Irish first setback
Zach Miller scored 1:58 into overtime off an assist from Maryland transfer Connor Cannizzaro on Sunday night to extend the No. 2 Denver men's lacrosse team's winning streak to 19 games with a 9-8 win over host No. 1 Notre Dame.
It was the fifth time in the past six meetings that Denver (6-0) and Notre Dame (4-1) have gone into overtime.
Miller got his hands free from 8 yards out in the middle of the field, received the pass from Cannizzaro and scored past Notre Dame goalkeeper Shane Doss.
Miller had the only hat trick for the Pioneers in the game while adding an assist. Cannizzaro also had four points for the Pioneers on a goal and three assists, stretching his nation-leading active goal streak to 31 games.
Denver goalie Alex Ready made a season-high 14 saves. Trevor Baptiste went 12-for-21 from the faceoff circle on Sunday night, none bigger than the one in overtime that gave Denver the final possession of the game. Baptiste, who finished with 11 ground balls, won it to himself to the side and took the ball all the way to the box to set up the Denver possession.
Notre Dame's P.J. Finley scored 34 seconds into the game. Denver responded with a 6-0 run from five goal scorers to take a 6-1 lead with 5:20 to play in the second quarter. Cannizzaro had three points in the stretch, a goal and two assists.
Notre Dame's Trevor Brosco and Denver's Tyler Pace scored to close out the scoring the in the first half with the Pioneers leading 7-2.
After a scoreless third quarter, the Irish scored six straight goals, including four in 43 seconds, to take an 8-7 lead with 4:34 to play. Pace tied it at 8 with 2:25 left.