The No. 17-ranked women’s lacrosse team topped both California and St. Mary’s on the road to finish the regular season 12-5, 5-0.
Junior Karen Morton scored six of the 12 goals on Saturday against California, helping DU clinch the second-consecutive Mountain Pacific Sports Federation regular season title.
Denver is currently the NCAA leader in caused turnovers, forcing 23 in weekend play.
California took an early lead just 45 seconds into the game, but the Pioneers jumped to the lead scoring seven-straight goals within 10 minutes. The Golden Bears scored another two points before the first half was over, but Denver still held a 7-3 lead.
Denver scored another four goals during the first 21 minutes of the second half, which gave the Pioneers a substantial lead. California outscored the Pioneers 4-1 in the last eight minutes but it wasn’t enough as the Pioneers defeated the Golden Bears 12-8.
“California was a very big game for us and the girls were very excited. We had a strong game plan, we really capitalized on that in the second half,” said Head Coach Liza Kelly.
On Sunday, the Pioneers carried their momentum and finished the regular season with a 20-8 victory against Saint Mary.
The Gaels netted the first goal, but Denver responded with goals from senior Megan Tyrie, sophomore Lexi Sanders and Morton within a five-minute stretch. In the final 10 minutes of the period, junior Dani Espinosa and Megan Zeman scored, giving the Pioneers a 7-4 lead going into the second half.
Denver came back on fire in the second period and netted seven straight goals in the first six minutes, but Saint Mary’s cut the lead by two.
Saint Mary’s tied the game with 15 minutes remaining in the first half, but Denver regained the lead as freshman Jocelyn Kuchta notched a pair of goals only 85 seconds apart.
The Pioneers then went on a 5-0 rush as sophomore Ali Flury and junior Molly Snively completed hat tricks.
The Pioneers will travel to California to compete in the quarter final of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament as the No. 1 seed on Wednesday. Their opponent will be determined.
“I think we played two very close games last year in the tourney I think we really respect all teams,” said Kelly. “We are going in with a fresh start, we are 0-0 in May and we are all focused to win the championship.”
