Men’s lacrosse played at Air Force on Saturday afternoon at Cadet Stadium where the Pioneers held the Falcons, to only one goal, the fewest goals scored by a Denver opponent since 2001 when DU defeated Colorado College 12-1.
The Pioneers trounced Air Force 14-1, ending their regular season with a victory in which 12 players contributed offensively.
“It’s always good to end the regular season on such a positive note,” said Head Coach Jamie Munro.
Freshman Jamie Lincoln again led the Pioneers to victory, scoring five goals. His season total is now at 44 goals, the highest total in Denver’s Division I history.
At 10:23 in the first period, junior Cliff Smith put Denver ahead first with an unassisted goal. His goal was followed by back-to-back unassisted goals from sophomore Dillon Roy and junior Joey Murray. These goals put Denver ahead 3-0 early in the first quarter.
Leading the Falcons 6-0, Denver lost some ground when Griffin Nevitt scored for Air Force at 5:20 in the second quarter. Pioneer defense proved strong, though, and Denver held the Falcons scoreless for the remaining 35:20 minutes of the game.
All three of Denver’s goalies had time in the net and sophomore Peyton Tyrie recorded a career-high 12 saves.
“The defense and goalies played great and the offense was crisp and sharp,” said Munro. “Possessing the ball is a big key to holding the other teams down.”
Freshmen Andrew Lay and Ryan Fanning scored goals in the fourth quarter, pushing DU to victory over the Falcons.
Sophomore John Dickenson recorded two goals for Denver. He and Lincoln were the only two players who had multiple goals.
The only statistical category that Denver did not win was in face-offs, where the Pioneers won only five of 18 though freshman Vince Kemp was 4-for-6.
Denver is currently ranked second in the Great Western Lacrosse League, behind Notre Dame and ahead of Ohio State. Quinnipiac is fourth seed.
“We are co-champions of the conference and the tie breaker is determined by goals allowed with in the three-way tie; Notre Dame gave up 21, we gave up 28 and OSU gave up 30,” said Munro.
The Pioneers will participate in the first ever GWLL tournament that beginning on May 2 in Birmingham, Michigan.
“We are very excited about the GWLL tourney,” said Coach Munro. It will be one of the most exciting competitive experiences of our players’ careers.”
Their game against Air Force on Saturday ended the regular season. The Pioneers are ranked No. 18 nationally.
