ALLIANCE, Ohio--  Denison scored the first six goals of the game and that cushion was enough to propel the Big Red to a 15-7 victory over Mount Union on Tuesday night.

DU dominated the early goings as the Big Red scored six times in the first 13 minutes of play to take a 6-0 lead.  Leah Israel broke the scoreless tie three minutes into the contest.  She won the ensuing draw and quickly got the ball to Claire Ludlow who scored the fastbreak goal, giving Denison a 2-0 lead.

Minutes later, Maddy Heher scored on a free-position attempt and with 19 minutes left in the first half, Reid Hirschey scored on an assist by Annie McMahon, putting DU on top, 4-0.

The next two tallies came from McMahon via an 8-meter attempt and Graham McIntosh on an unassisted goal with 13:19 left in the half.

The Purple Raiders struggled when clearing the ball in the opening half and Denison was there to capitalize.  Mount Union was just 3-of-9 in the first half.  They turned the ball over 10 times and Denison was there to double them up in shot attempts, 16-8.

In the second half, Denison outscored Mount Union 5-3 as Heyer scored again to notch her first career hat trick.  Virginia Hamilton finished with two goals on three shots and Ludlow totaled two goals and one assist.

Israel paced DU with four ground balls and four draw controls and Jane Goodspeed caused three turnovers.  Becca Jones notched three saves while facing 10 shots on goal.

Mount Union was led offensively by Alyssa Rydell's three goals.  Danielle Rohrman scored twice while leading her team with seven shots.  Nikki Bonaduce posted nine saves for the Raiders.

Denison outshot Mount Union, 27-17 while holding a 22-20 edge in ground balls.  The Big Red improves to 5-3 with the win while UMU drops to 5-2.  Denison opens North Coast Athletic Conference play on Saturday (April 1) at 3 p.m. at Piper Stadium. 

Saturday is Denison's annual One Love benefit game played to raise funds and awareness in an effort to combat domestic violence.  The foundation was created in memory of Yeardley Love, a University of Virginia senior lacrosse player who was beaten to death by her ex-boyfriend just weeks short of graduation in 2010.