The Denver men’s lacrosse team needed a goal just less than four minutes into the fourth quarter if they had hopes of rallying in Saturday’s NCAA tournament game against the Terrapins.

Down by three, the Pioneers had given up six consecutive goals and not scored in more than 25 minutes as the Terp defense had locked down.

Denver midfielder Charley Dickenson tried to take matters into his own hands and made a hard move toward the net.

But Terp senior defender Joe Cinosky was standing in his way. Cinosky knocked the stick right out of Dickenson’s hands for a turnover, sending the Terps racing the other way. Twenty-two seconds later, freshman attackman Grant Catalino scored to give the Terps their largest lead of the game.

Cinosky and the senior-laden Terp defense turned up the pressure after spotting Denver an early three-goal lead to propel the Terps into the second round of the tournament with a 10-7 win.

“At 5-2, we talked about how our seniors on defense took over the game,” coach Dave Cottle said. “They knocked the ball on the ground and cleared it to get us some opportunities.”

The all-senior starting defense that also includes Ryne Adolph and Jacob Baxter made sure the Terps would not drop a second-straight NCAA tournament home game with their play during a 7-0 Terp run that lasted from the middle of the second quarter through the middle of the fourth quarter.

Cottle praised his defenders for coming through when the team needed them most.

“It’s easy to lead when things are easy, but when things got tough, our leaders stepped up,” Cottle said.

Playing against an unconventional Pioneer offense, which emphasizes quick passing and cutting inspired by indoor box lacrosse, it took the Terps time to adjust.

“They score some really creative goals that are hard to defend,” Cottle said. “But with that comes turnovers, if we could get some sticks on them.”

But eventually, the Terps were able to follow their game plan to cause a season-high 29 turnovers. They kept the Pioneers from maneuvering in the goal area, forcing Denver to settle for outside shots or try to attack the middle, which usually resulted in a turnover.

The defense held Denver to three third-quarter shots and only four shots on goal in the second half while also moving the ball in transition to jump-start the Terp offense.

“Our defense was on its toes and had to be ready for anything,” said sophomore goalie Brian Phipps, who made six saves and allowed two goals in the second half. “The second half we executed our plan that coach [Dave] Slafkosky had, and it led us to victory.”

Cinosky anchored the defense, picking up four groundballs and causing four turnovers. He added a man-down goal in the fourth quarter. Sophomore long pole Brian Farrell added to the Pioneers’ frustration by picking up five groundballs and causing four turnovers. He set up freshman attackman Ryan Young’s third-quarter goal with a long outlet pass after a failed Pioneer clear.

For Cinosky, who deflected credit for the defense’s play toward his teammates, it wasn’t a matter of changing anything, but it was a matter of playing tougher against one of the most physical teams the Terps have faced this season.

“Once we knew that they were trying to bully us, that’s when we kind of bulled our necks and took it to them a little bit,” Cinosky said.

Charley Dickenson found that out the hard way.

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