The DU men’s lacrosse team will compete in its first ever NCAA tournament game this Saturday when the Pioneers face -off against the Maryland Terrapins in College Park, Md.
The Terrapins are the second seed in the tournament and will be making their 29th appearance at the tourney. DU is the only team in the event that has never been to the NCAA tournament.
The Pioneers and the Terrapins have met on the field only twice, both games going to the Terrapins. However, their most recent meeting was in 2001 therefore those games are little more than trivia at this point.
The Pioneers will be led by their three captains, seniors Andrew McCuiston, Bart Sullivan and Billy McKinney.
The Pioneers have the second highest face-off win percentage going into the tournament thanks to Geoff Snider who has been remarkable this season taking face-offs.
The Pioneers also average 11 goals a game whereas Maryland averages 6.64 goals per each game. The Pioneers did struggle on the road early in the season.
However, they closed strong winning their last three games on the road and are hoping to keep that road-win streak alive.
The Pioneers were awarded one of six automatic bids to the tournament as the Great Western Lacrosse League champions. The other schools that attained automatic bids were Maryland, Hofstra, Cornell, Providence, and the U.S. Naval Academy. The other 10 teams are awarded bids at large.
The Pioneers concluded their season with a 12-4 record (5-0 GWLL) which was a school record, going undefeated at Peter Barton Stadium. Regardless of the Pioneers’ performance at the NCAA tournament, they will have put together a miraculous and record breaking season.
Comparisons
Denver and Maryland played five of the same opponents during the season and DU went 3-2 and the Terps 3-3. DU lost to Virginia 13-7 to open the season and Maryland lost twice to the Cavaliers, 15-5 and 11-5.
DU beat Bucknell 11-8 at home, but the Terrapins lost to them 7-6, also at home. Although Maryland defeated UMBC 9-4 on the road, the Pioneers fell 12-8 also at UMBC.
The other two opponents are North Carolina, which DU beat 11-8 and Maryland won 9-6, and Sacred Heart, which Denver won 10-6 and the Terps were victorious 18-2.
The winner receives
The winner of the Denver/Maryland game will meet the winner of the Princeton/UMBC first-round game in the quarterfinals on Sunday, May 21, at the University of Towson.
Tickets
Tickets are on sale now for this weekends game and can be purchased at the Ritchie Center box office by calling 303.871.4625 or at www.DenverPioneers.com. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children and can also be purchased the day of at the Byrd Stadium box office.
