York, Pa. — The No. 19 Denison University men's lacrosse team picked up a thrilling 12-11 victory over No. 16 York College of Pennsylvania. The Big Red improved to 5-4 on the season with this hard-fought win on the road, handing the Spartans just their third loss of the season.

Led by the offensive firepower of Tommy Quinson and Collin Murphy. Just over a minute into the game, Jack Hines scored the opening goal off an assist from Murphy to tie the score at 1-1. Less than a minute later, Colin Donegan added another goal, assisted by Macky Peck, to give the Big Red a 2-1 lead. After York briefly regained the advantage, Quinson connected on a goal from Peck to even things up at 3-3 halfway through the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Denison took control, starting with an unassisted goal by Hines to tie the game at 4-4. Donegan found the net again with help from Quinson, and Peck scored a crucial solo goal with just three seconds left in the half, giving the Big Red a 6-5 lead at halftime.

After the break, Denison extended their lead in the third quarter with a dominant offensive stretch. Michael Cassidy opened the second-half scoring with an unassisted goal, followed by Quinson's second goal of the day off a Jack Moellering assist. Moellering then added a goal of his own, and Cassidy scored again to give Denison a 10-5 lead heading into the final quarter.

In the fourth quarter, Denison aimed to protect their lead, but York mounted a late 5-0 run. Murphy gave the Big Red an early boost with a goal assisted by Cassidy at 14:06, extending the lead to 11-6. However, York answered with a string of goals, tying the game at 11-11 with 4:15 remaining. Just over a minute later, Murphy found the net again off a feed from Quinson, putting Denison back on top, 12-11. Despite York's push, Denison's defense held firm in the closing moments to secure the narrow victory. 

Quinson led the way with two goals and two assists, while Murphy, Hines, Donegan, and Cassidy each tallied two goals.

Denison also held a slight edge in ground balls (40-34) and faceoffs, winning 11 of 23.

Up Next
Denison aims to build on their momentum as they resume conference play with a road game at Hiram tomorrow, Sunday, March 30, at 1 p.m.