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The DU men’s lacrosse team blew a fourth quarter lead and lost 9-8 in overtime to then-No. 17 Fairfield on Saturday, falling to No. 16 in both national polls and 7-5 overall with one game remaining in the regular season.

Freshman Wes Berg recorded his second hat trick of the season and put the Pioneers up 8-5 with 9:47 left to play in the fourth quarter, but the Stags (11-2, 4-1) came roaring back with a trio of goals, tying the contest with 19 seconds left in regulation when midfielder Sam Snow scored past freshman goalie Ryan LaPlante.

Snow only needed 22 seconds in overtime to find the back of the net once more, beating LaPlante again on the game-winning shot and finishing the afternoon with five goals.

“It was an overall collapse from the coaching down to the players,” said head coach Bill Tierney about the end of the game. “We had trouble on both ends of the field. We weren’t smart with the ball on offense and didn’t defend well enough to protect the lead. We need to find a better way to handle close situations. It’s very frustrating to lose close again.”

Although they lost this weekend, the Pioneers clinched the No. 4 seed in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) tournament, which they will host on May 2-4. The Pioneers will have a rematch against No. 1 seed Loyola in the semi-finals.

As for national tournament chances, Tierney believes the team must win out in order to guarantee a spot in the NCAA tournament field.

“We have to win the ECAC tournament to get into the NCAA,” said Tierney on Monday. “We know who our opponents will be and we’ve played them all close this season. We’re excited about the postseason tournament next week.”

While the game ended on a sour note for the Pioneers, the team was able to jump off to a quick start when junior Chase Carraro scored five seconds into the game to put the Pioneers ahead 1-0.

The lead would change several times in the first half though as the Stags went up 3-2 behind a pair of goals from Snow and one from attackman Alex Cramer.

“There’s never been a faster start in the history of the game,” said Tierney about Carraro’s goal on Saturday. “We neever want to start slow, because going up early always give you an advantage. However, we need to learn to protect leads and add to them. Last year we were able to jump out on teams and build the lead to five or six goals. That hasn’t been the case this season.”

Berg scored to tie the contest at three, while senior Patrick Rogers and junior Eric Law added a goal each to put the Pioneers up 5-3.

Fairfield tied the game before halftime, but DU went on a three-goal tear coming off the break as senior Mark Matthews scored one of his two during the contest and Berg netted two of his three.

For the second consecutive weekend, the Pioneers were held scoreless late in the game they would go on to lose.

Fairfield’s defense was key to the victory, shutting down the DU offense for the remaining nine minutes of the fourth quarter as they mounted their comeback. Goalie Charlie Cipriano finished with 12 saves as the defense caused 13 turnovers.

Duke-Denver concludes Mile High Classic

The Pioneers conclude their regular season with another top-ranked opponent as the Duke Blue Devils (13-3) travel to Denver to take part in the Whitman’s B. Sampler B. Mile High Classic hosted by Inside Lacrosse at Sports Authority Field on Friday.

Denver and Duke finish the event at 8 p.m. on ESPNU, following the game between No. 6 Virginia and Penn, which is scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m.

Last season, the Pioneers earned arguably their biggest win of the regular season when they knocked off the Blue Devils 12-9 on April 9, 2011 in Bethpage, N.Y. B

So far this season, Denver has been unable to achieve a marquee victory, losing three times to top-10 opponents and recording a 1-4 record against ranked opponents. “I’m confident in our guys ability to play the game and win games,” said Tierney about the team’s struggles this season against top quality opponents. “We need to play the way we are capable and take advantage of every situation given to us. We’ve competed with the best in the country and played them close, so we know what we are capable of, now it’s all about the execution.”

The Blue Devils are coming off an eventful weekend, where they captured the ACC Championship, beating rival UNC 12-9 on Sunday to earn their 10th straight victory and their school’s seventh ACC championship crown.

Duke’s last loss came on March 10, when they lost 13-8 to Loyola.

“[Duke] is arguably the hottest team in the country, along with Loyola and UMass, who both are undefeated,” said Tierney. “They can win in all sorts of ways and we know the challenge awaits us. It’s an exciting moment for everyone involved – to play under the lights of a professional stadium on national TV.”

Duke has some of the nation’s best players, including sophomores Jordan Wolf, Josh Dionne and Christian Walsh and senior Robert Rotanz, who all have more than 30 points this season.

“On the offensive end, they have great finishers, who really have a knack for scoring,” said Tierney.

The team’s best player is senior midfielder C.J. Costabile, who is one of the top face-off specialists in the country, winning 54.7 percent of his attempts.

“He’s the best long pole in the game right now,” said Tierney. “He is also one of the best athletes in the game and can beat you numerous ways, especially when the ball is on the ground. We need to be protective of the ball around midfield, because he is relentless and he has a great pair of wings that make their face-off unit one of the best.”

While Carraro will have to prepare for Costabile in the face-off circle, the Pioneers offense must respect the Blue Devil defensive unit led by redshirt senior Michael Manley and sophomores Chris Hipps and Henry Lobb. The defense has dominated its last three opponents-No. 5 UNC, No. 6 Virginia and No. 7/9 Maryland – holding them all under 10 goals, averaging less than 7 goals allowed per contest.

“Their defenders are big, strong, athletic and will challenge us more than any other unit we’ve faced this year,” said Tierney. “Their goalie is really playing well recently .”

Goalie Dan Wigrizer has provided solid leadership in net, recording a 8-2 record and a 55.8 save percentage

Tierney has a long-time relationship with Duke head coach John Danowski, dating back to their youthful coaching days in Long Island.

“I know how much both sides are looking forward to it,” said Tierney. “We need to remain confident in our game and forget about these past two weekends.”