Owings Mills, Md. -- Six unanswered second-half goals lifted the No. 7-ranked University of Lynchburg men's lacrosse team to a thrilling 13-12 win over No. 18 Denison Friday morning in the opening game of Stevenson University's Mustang Classic.

Kyle Lewis and Jake Rust each tallied a hat trick for the Hornets, while Tyler Hadley entered in goal in the second half and saved 10 of the 13 shots he faced to nail down the Hornet defense.

Riley Mitchell gave the Hornets an early lead less than 2 minutes in, but the teams proved to be evenly matched in the game's early going. Denison matched Lynchburg goals to tie the game at 1-1, 2-2, and 3-3 in the early going. The Hornets finally got some breathing room on unanswered goals by Brett Rogers and Ryan Kenney – the seniors assisted each other's scores – to take a 5-3 lead after a quarter of play.

The Hornets made it a 4-1 run on a pair of Jake Rust goals early in the second, but then the Lynchburg offense went quiet. The Hornets managed just two offensive possessions in the final 6 minutes of the second period, and Denison scored twice in the final minute to cut the Hornet lead to 7-6 at intermission.

Dension won the opening face-off of the third and promptly scored, and the Big Red scored three more unanswered goals to open up a 10-7 lead. Mitchell found the back of the net – his second goal of the game – with 3:13 left in the third to break the 18-minute scoring drought, and Denison led 10-8 after three.

That goal sparked a 6-0 run for the Hornets, who all of a sudden couldn't miss. Brett Rogers assisted a Lewis goal to kick off the fourth, and Lynchburg took advantage of a man-up opportunity for a Rogers goal that tied the game at 10 with 10:42 left to play. Rust, Lewis, and Dylan Wolfe added Hornet scores to make it 13-10 Lynchburg with 6:28 remaining.

The Hornets, though, continued to play tough defense despite a man-down situation of their own, and held the Big Red off the board until 2:50 remaining, when Denison cut it to 13-11. The Big Red won the ensuing face-off, but both teams' defenses held on back-to-back possessions. Out of a DU timeout, Gavin Pappas pulled the Big Red within one, scoring with 1:42 remaining.

Lynchburg's Tyler Kuni won the next face-off – the senior went 5-for-9 at the X in the second half – and the Hornets called timeout. After dropping some time off the clock, Lynchburg turned the ball over, affording DU one last opportunity. Denison's Luke Fisher managed a shot with 8 seconds remaining, but Hadley dug it out of the turf to cement the Lynchburg victory.

Hadley's 10 saves marked a season-high for the junior, and Lynchburg outscored DU by a 6-3 margin after he entered the game in the third. Lewis added three assists, three ground balls, and a caused turnover to his three-goal outburst. Rogers finished with two goals and three assists, Mitchell had a pair of goals and two assists, and Chris Darminio scooped a team-best four ground balls.

Lynchburg (5-1) snapped a three-game losing streak against Denison with the victory. The Hornets will conclude their stay at the Mustang Classic at 11 a.m. Saturday against No. 4-ranked Christopher Newport.

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