The Pioneers were held to their lowest goal total since a 12-3 loss at Virginia in 2003 in their 8-3 loss to No. 19 ranked Georgetown.
Junior Colin Rutan (Walnut Creek, Calif.) was the lone goal scorer in the contest for the Pioneers, scoring his first hat trick. Rutan scored his first goal, an unassisted goal, at 2:08 in the second quarter. He scored again at 1:31 in the second quarter with an assist from junior attackman Austin French (Danville, Calif.). His final goal came at 8:35 in the fourth quarter, off an assist from sophomore Danny Logan (Upper Arlington, Ohio). This hat trick was the first of Rutan’s career.
Senior face-off specialist Trevor Baptiste (Denville, N.J.) was 11-for-15. On Denver’s semi-finals game against Marquette, Baptiste broke the NCAA Division I Men’s Lacrosse record for faceoff wins with 1118 face-off wins. With his faceoff wins, Baptiste’s record now stands at 1,129 face-off wins. Baptiste was also named the BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year for the fourth time in his career. He is a three-time United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) First-Team All American, one of 59 players who have earned the distinction three times. If he were to be named to the team again later this year, he would be the sixth person to be named a First Team All-American four times. Baptiste is the first face-off specialist to be selected first in the Major League Lacrosse draft. This summer, he will represent the U.S. in the 2018 Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) World Lacrosse Championships.
Sophomore attack Ethan Walker (Peterborough, Ontario) was named the BIG EAST Attack of the Year for the first time in his career. In 2017, Walker was named as the BIG EAST Freshman of the Year and was named a USILA Honorable Mention All-American. He is currently second in the nation in goals per game, with 3.23, as well as seventh in the nation for shooting percentage (0.525.). Walker set the freshman record for points with 72 points scored, scoring 40 goals and having 32 assists.
Junior Dylan Gaines (Baltimore, Md.) was named the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year. He is a leader of a defense that leads the BIG EAST in scoring defense, with 7.46 goals per game, as well as holding BIG EAST opponents to six goals or less. This is Denver’s fewest goals allowed in a five-game stretch since 1970, as well as the first time that the defense has allowed six goals or less to five consecutive opponents. Gaines has 32 ground balls in 13 games, as well as causing15 turnovers.
Baptiste, Walker and Gains were joined on the BIG EAST First Team by junior midfielder Colton Jackson (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) and junior close defender Dylan Johnson (Englewood, Calif.). Two more Pioneers were named to the BIG EAST Second Team: junior attack French and senior midfielder Joe Reid (Petaluma, Calif.).
Denver will start the 2018 NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Tournament traveling to take on No. 7 Notre Dame. Face-off is set for 12:15 MT, and the game will be broadcast on ESPNU.
