In the BIG EAST Championship game, the No.15 Pioneers faced the No.13 Georgetown Hoyas for the second year in a row. The Pioneers fell down early to Georgetown in the first quarter 6-2. Freshman Alex Simmons (Smithville, Ontario) and senior Austin French (Danville, Calif.) both had goals for the Pioneers in the first. Simmons just got the ball across the goal-line before making contact with the Georgetown goalkeeper for the first goal of the quarter. Junior Schuyler Blair (Huntington Beach, Calif.) was able to end the Georgetown scoring run of five unanswered goal with a goal on an unsettled situation. 

The Pioneers looked to crawl back from their first quarter deficit with the first goal of the second quarter from sophomore Jack Hannah (Milford, Ohio) on a man-up opportunity. However, the Hoya defense stood strong and held the Pioneers to the one goal. The Pioneer defense was also able to respond with their own stand holding the Hoyas to one goal. The score going into the second half would end up 7-3. 

The Pioneers came out of the locker room impassioned to get back into the game by getting three unanswered goals in the third quarter from Hannah, junior Ethan Walker (Peterborough, Ontario) and senior Quinn McKone (Novato, Calif.). Senior goalie Alex Ready (Lancaster, Pa.) was able to make a difference in the second half by keeping the Pioneers close. Georgetown would get one back to have an 8-6 lead going into the fourth and final quarter. 

The Pioneers faced a determined team in Georgetown as the Hoyas increased their lead to 10-6. Freshman Johnny Marrocco (Cincinnati, Ohio) would also impress with two goals in two games as he converted a diving tap-in goal to help the Pioneers make it back to a three goal game. Eventually, the goal deficit became too much for Pioneers as the game clock ran out on the Pioneers and on their season. 

The Pioneers were not selected for an At-Large bid into the NCAA Championship and ended their season with a 10-5 record. The Pioneers had very close games throughout their season with many games being lost by one goal. Underclassmen shined this year and showed that Denver will be a force to reckon with behind a senior leader in Walker and a faceoff specialist, Brett Boos (Parker, Colo.), growing into his role at the dot. We look forward to what the Pioneers will bring us next season as they look to make it back into the NCAA tournament after missing out this year.