After a slow start, the Pioneer men’s lacrosse team dominated the second half of their season opener to deliver a convincing 10-5 win over the No. 17 ranked Nittany Lions of Penn State in State College, Penn. Saturday.

The Pioneers, now ranked No. 12 in the country by the Nike/Inside Lacrosse Men’s D1 Media Poll, were led by sophomore Joey Murray, who contributed four points in the win.

After Murray and fellow Pioneer sophomore Michael Goltra put DU up 2-0 early in the first quarter, it looked as though the Pioneers might cruise to an easy win. But the Nittany Lions fired back, scoring five unanswered goals.

The Pioneers, who struggled with turnovers throughout the first half, were able to chip the Penn State lead back down to two goals when Goltra scored late in the second quarter to send the Pioneers into halftime down 5-3.

All momentum that Penn State might have built in the first half quickly vanished from the opening faceoff of the third quarter.

The Pioneers started an impressive run in which they scored seven straight goals in the second half, the first coming only five minutes into the third quarter when Brett Koll notched his first goal of the season.

The Pioneers added two more goals in the next 1:50 to take their second lead of the game, a lead that they would not relinquish.

After adding four more goals in the fourth quarter, the Pioneers held on for a hard fought 10-5 win.

Senior goalkeeper Jeb Hollingsworth had a big game for the Pioneers, as he made seven saves, five in the second half, and tied for the team lead by picking up five groundballs.

Four Pioneer players finished the game with multiple points. Murray and Goltra both notched four points, while Koll and Ilija Gajic had two apiece.

The Pioneers (1-0) are coming off of arguably their best season in school history, as they finished 12-5 a season ago, while making their first-ever NCAA tournament appearance and winning their first-ever Great Western Lacrosse League championship.

Being recognized for past season’s achievements, the Pioneers have garnered some pre-season accolades.

Attacker Ryan Zordani, defensemen David Hahn and Rory Shepard were all honored by being named to the Inside Lacrosse Magazine Pre-Season All-America Team.

The Pioneers were also picked by a coaches’ poll to repeat as GWLL champions.

With 27 returning players from last year’s squad, the Pioneers are looking to improve on their 2006 success with a schedule stacked with the country’s best teams.

The Pioneers will play perennial lacrosse powers such as the University of North Carolina, Stoney Brook University, Notre Dame University, Ohio State University and Duke University

The Pioneers will get a firm test this weekend when they travel to North Carolina to take on UNC Saturday and Duke Sunday. Both games are at 11 a.m. MT.-