Photo by:
The Pioneers welcomed the eighth annual Rocky Mountain Showdown at Invesco Field at Mile High this past Saturday, and they did not disappoint the 3,372 fans, winning the game handily.
The No. 5-ranked Pioneers beat the Ohio State University Buckeyes 11-6, a year after crushing Loyola 12-4 in the same event.
The win gives the Pioneers (9-2, 4-0 ECAC) their best 11-game start in the school’s history since joining Division I, winning their last six games with two regular season contests remaining.
“This is a good team victory,” said head coach Bill Tierney. “One of the things that we have been doing lately is out-scoring people. Today I thought on both ends we played well.”
The Pioneers were led by sophomore midfielders Cameron Flint and Chase Carraro, junior attackman Mark Matthews, senior attackman Todd Baxter and freshman goaltender Jamie Faus.
Faus made 12 saves on his way to earning his eighth win in ten games.
As for Matthews, he added to his team high, 29 goals, by netting two more on Saturday. He also leads the Pioneers in points with 46. The junior is currently 12 points shy from tying the school record.
The game started out quickly as DU was able to jump to an early two-goal lead. Baxter got the Pioneers on the board 28 seconds into the game, the fastest the Pioneers have scored to open a game this season. Forty two seconds later, freshman Jeremy Noble put the Pioneers up two.
In the second quarter the Pioneers found offense in a familiar face – Matthews. The junior added two goals, six seconds apart of each other, in the first five minutes of the quarter, but OSU finished the quarter with a goal to make it 5-3 DU heading into half.
“We got those two goals early and Ohio State went to zone to kind of slow us down,” said Tierney. “In the third quarter my coaching staff made some great adjustments.”
The second half started much like the first half for the Pioneers as they rode the back of Flint for the first part of the quarter then Carraro for the later part.
“It just gave us a little more separation from Ohio State,” said Flint of the 5-0 scoring run the Pioneers went on in the third quarter. “At the end of the half it was 5-3 and for us to get on a little of a run, like Chase says, it gives a little encouragement and confidence and we are able to role with that.”
Flint, who finished with three goals and one assist to lead the Pioneers on the offensive attack, started the quarter with a goal 1:11 in. The Pioneers never looked back after that.
Flint would add another goal less than a minute after Baxter scored to make it 8-3.
Then Carraro took over.
“I knew that their faceoff guys coming in did not have the strongest percentages,” said Carraro. “It was a big confidence for me that translated out on to the field. When we start getting on those roles when we are scoring goals, that pumps me up.”
Carraro, who was 14-20 (70 percent) in the faceoff circle, found the back of the net twice in the quarter, putting the Pioneers up 10-4 at the start of the final quarter.
The sophomore midfielder ranks No. 13 in the nation with a faceoff percentage of 58.9, and he did not let up in the final quarter.
Five seconds into the fourth quarter, Carraro won the faceoff and went right down the middle of the field to bury the puck past OSU goaltender Greg Dutton.
“For me to be able to walk straight back to the faceoff X and get the ball back is huge for my confidence and our team’s confidence,” said Carraro. “Playing here at Invesco was really cool. For me it is just about getting better every game.”
The Pioneers are now looking to the future as the playoffs approach.
“It is all about work ethic,” said Flint. “We all need to go to practice everyday and go hard everyday.”
Tierney thinks that Saturday was just another win for a team that has growing confidence.
“I hate to sound cliché, but it is another win, its 1-0 for today,” said Tierney. “The guys have worked hard each week to get on this role. The only thing that matters is the next one.”
The “next one” for the Pioneers is at Bellarmine, Saturday April 23 at 11 a.m.
