GRANVILLE, Ohio — Denison men's lacrosse built a commanding first-half lead and never looked back, defeating Baldwin Wallace 14–7 Monday evening at Kienzle-Hylbert Stadium.
Denison (1–2) seized control early, scoring four times in the opening quarter and adding five more in the second to carry a decisive 9–2 advantage into halftime.
The Big Red struck first when Brady Monturio converted a feed from Jack Moellering less than two minutes into the contest, and after Baldwin Wallace answered with an extra-man goal, Denison rattled off three straight scores. Macky Peck tallied twice during the stretch and Jonah Frank added an unassisted finish to close the quarter with a 4–1 lead.
Denison's offense surged in the second, turning a two-goal game into a comfortable cushion. Monturio and Moellering connected again, Savoy and Peck each found the net, and Frank capped the run late as the Big Red poured in five goals in under eight minutes to open up a seven-goal cushion at the break.
After extending the margin to 11–2 early in the third behind goals from Frank and Savoy, Denison weathered a brief Baldwin Wallace push. The visitors scored twice late in the quarter, but Peck halted the momentum with a buzzer-beating goal to send the Big Red into the fourth ahead 12–4.
Baldwin Wallace made one final run with three quick tallies to start the fourth, trimming the deficit to five, before Denison answered. Monturio completed his hat trick off an assist from Frank, and Teddy Hardy added an insurance goal minutes later to seal the outcome.
Peck paced all scorers with four goals, while Monturio and Frank each recorded hat tricks and Savoy chipped in two. Moellering added a goal and two assists as six different Big Red players scored.
Despite both teams finishing with 31 shots, Denison made the difference defensively and in the possession game. The Big Red goalkeepers combined for 13 saves, held Baldwin Wallace to just three shots on goal in the second quarter, and finished with advantages in ground balls (25–22), faceoffs (13–11), and clears (18-of-20), while converting their lone extra-man opportunity.
