The Pioneers defeated Delaware 13-9 on Wednesday and Drexel 12-10 on Friday at Peter Barton Lacrosse stadium, tallying their seventh and eighth consecutive wins in three weeks. The team’s only loss of the season so far was its season-opener against Johns Hopkins.
During Friday’s game, sophomore attack Jenn Etzel led the team with four goals, followed closely by junior Kara Secora with three goals and one assist, senior Melissa Maier with two goals and one assist and freshman Jill Remenapp, with one goal and two assists.
“Going in, it was intense. We’ve won six games and we all want to keep it going,” said Etzel.
Wednesday’s game against Delaware saw strong performances from Denver’s entire offense. Remenapp, Maier, Secora, Nace and Dilon all recorded two goals each. Remenapp, Secora and Maier also added assists.
Denver (8-1, 2-0 MPSF), currently tied for 1st in the MPSF with Oregon and UC Davis, put up a solid performance in the first half on Wednesday with five saves by senior goalkeeper Ashley Harman.
“We had great possessions, but more of them need to transition into goals,” said head coach Liza Kelly.
Over the two weeks, Denver also defeated George Washington 15-8 and Hofstra 8-5, heading into the remainder of the regular season with momentum toward success.
“We are excited to get a win against a solid opponent going into the final stretch against conference opponents,” said Kelly.
The Pioneers will host No. 6 Stanford this Saturday at 1 p.m., followed by Monday’s home contest against San Diego State at 2 p.m.
Stanford, seven-time MPSF champions, has battled the Pioneers consistently over the past five seasons, as the teams have competed for first in the MPSF. However, despite the Pioneers putting up solid performances in the regular season and making it to the semifinals five years in a row, they have yet to beat Stanford for the championship and a bid to the NCAA tournament.
In the 2007-2008 season, the Pioneers came close, and at No. 17, the team was even ranked three slots ahead of No. 20 Stanford. Despite a hat trick by then sophomore Lexi Sanders, DU lost by a single point (8-9) after a Pioneer comeback in the final minutes of the MPSF championship game.
In the 2009-2010 MPSF championship, DU lost to Stanford 10-11 in double overtime. Both the first and most of the second half went to Stanford with the Pioneers down 6-9 with 10:11 left on the clock. In the space of three minutes, however, Denver managed to tie the game. DU continued its streak into the first overtime and even one-upped the Cardinal, but were forced into a second overtime and then beaten by a pair of goals from Stanford.
