Denison's NCAA Tournament run came to an end on Wednesday evening with a 14-7 loss to No. 5 Stevenson University from Mustang Stadium in Owings Mills, Md. 

Just as they did in an earlier regular season meeting, Stevenson turned in an impressive second quarter to pull out in front, 8-3 at the half.  After taking a 4-2 lead at the end of the first quarter, the Mustangs outshot DU 17-3 in the second period as Tyler Reid scored three of his game-high five goals.  Denison goalie Nick Petracca posted seven of his 15 saves in the quarter, but too many scoring opportunities for the Mustangs would doom the Big Red.

In the second half, Alex Hardt jump-started Denison with a goal at the 13:05 mark off an assist by defender Tommy Harrison.  The Mustangs would answer with a pair of goals to take a 10-4 lead. However, Vita and Hardt countered for the Big Red, shrinking the home team's lead to four goals with 10:56 to play in the contest.

For a stretch spanning the second and third quarter, DU won just 2 of 10 face-off's but in the fourth quarter, sophomore Chip Phillips began to heat up.  Reid's fifth goal of the contest at 9:32 gave the Mustangs a five-goal lead but off the ensuing face-off, Denison senior Davis Lukens kept the Big Red's hopes alive with his 24th goal of the season.

With nine minutes left to play a comeback was still in the cards, if DU could gain possession and score quickly. 

Denison won the next face-off and Stevenson was quickly flagged for an illegal body check putting DU in extra-man for the fourth time.  A turnover by Denison would negate the man-up opportunity, and just over two minutes later, Stevenson's Justin Lea would score his 29th goal of the season and his second of the game, quelling DU's comeback attempt.

Two more scores by Stevenson would set the final at 14-7.

Denison was led in scoring by Cory Couture who finished with two goals and one assist.  The senior ends his career with 76 goals and 94 assists.  That ties him for seventh all-time on the career assist list.  He is 11th in career points. 

Hardt joined his classmate Couture with three goals.  The final two goals were netted by Eddie Vita and Lukens while Harrison and Austin Campbell each tallied assists.

Campbell paced Denison with five ground balls while Harrison posted three.  Petracca posted 15 saves while his counterpart, Ian Bolland, ended with 11 saves.

Turnovers were costly for the Big Red as they committed 24 miscues compared to 17 for Stevenson.  Face-off's were even, with 11 wins for each team, and man-up was primarily a non-factor as Stevenson logged the lone extra-man goal in the third quarter.

Denison's season comes to a close with a 15-2 record with both losses coming at the hands of the Mustangs.  The .882 winning percentage marks the best season in school history.  The 15 victories tie 1982's squad for most wins in a season.

This marked the 12th NCAA quarterfinal appearance and the 20th NCAA Tournament berth for Denison.  Stevenson moves on to Sunday's semifinals where they will face No. 1 Salisbury on Sunday (May 20).