After winning last year’s National Championship, the men’s lacrosse team is back and ready to pursue their second title.

On May 25, 2015 DU blew out the University of Maryland with a final score of 10-5 to win their first ever men’s lacrosse National Championship title.

DU was left with a bit of rebuilding to do in the off-season after losing eight seniors including Wesley Berg (Coquitlam, Canada), Sean Cannizzaro (Cazenovia, New York), Carson Cannon (Stillwater, Minnesota) and Ryan Laplante (Fort Collins, Colorado).

On Jan. 10, the Pioneers traveled to Bradenton, Florida to take on the USA National Lacrosse Team to kick off 2016. DU lost to Team USA with a final score of 22-6.

The only other preseason game for the Pioneers occurred on Jan. 30 when DU hosted Johns Hopkins University at Peter Barton Stadium.

The final score was 14-10, a win for the Pioneers. Freshman Nate Marano (Tustin, California) led the team with four goals.

DU has been ranked No. 2 by two different preseason polls. According to the 2016 Face-Off Yearbook, DU is ranked second with the University of Notre Dame coming in at No. 1. The Cascade/Maverik Division 1 Media poll also places DU at No. 2 with Notre Dame at No. 1.

Last season, DU defeated Notre Dame 11-10 in the semifinal round of the NCAA playoffs to advance to the championship match.

Denver’s first regular season game will be on Feb. 13 at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs at 1 p.m.

The Pioneer’s next home match is scheduled for Feb. 27 against Sacred Heart University.