DU men’s lacrosse won its first road games of the season by defeating both Ohio State and Butler over the weekend.
The two wins also gave the team a record-breaking season, getting the most wins in school history. The two road victories also secured the Great Western Lacrosse League (GWLL) automatic bid for the tournament, thus assuring that DU will make its first-ever appearance in the tournament.
Friday night saw DU face off against Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio. Both teams are members of GWLL, both had 2-0 GWLL records going into the game. The Pioneers defeated the Buckeyes 13-9 led by sophomores Michael Goltra and Brett Koll, who each tallied two goals. Goltra also added a season-high three assists and Adam Goodwin added two more goals for the Pioneers. Geoff Snider recorded a goal and an assist along with 14 ground balls. He also won 21 of 25 face-off attempts. Brandon Barcus and Ryan Zordani each picked up an assist and a goal each to help the Pioneers top the Ohio State Buckeyes.
The Pioneers got off to an early 2-0 lead. Each team then traded scores and DU rattled off three straight goals to give DU a 6-2 advantage. The Buckeyes crept to within three goals before the end of the first period. In the second period, DU went on a 5-0 streak giving DU an 11-3 lead ending the half. The final score was 13-7 with the Buckeyes falling to 2-1 in the GWLL.
Sunday, the Pioneers defeated the Butler Bulldogs 11-5 to move to 11-4 for the season and 4-0 in the GWLL. The victory marked a record number of wins in a season for DU and it also secured DU’s participation in the post season. Ryan Zordani and Jon Paulson both added three goals for the Pioneers and Denver goalie Jeb Hollingsworth recorded nine saves. Senior Jeff Snider picked up 10 ground balls and recorded two assists. Snider also dominated the face-off winning 14 of 19, helping DU maintain control of the game. The statistics overwhelmingly favored Denver, with DU grabbing 42 ground balls to the Bulldogs’ 30 and out-shooting Butler 38-23. Denver also had nine assists to Butler’s two.
The Bulldogs got off to an early 2-0 lead but the gap was soon closed with goals from Adam Goodwin and Brad Patterson to tie the game at 2-2. The lead then shifted back and forth until it reached 5-5 midway through the third period, after which point DU took charge and scored six straight goals to close out the game. Two of these came from Jon Paulson while the Pioneers were playing a man-down.
The loss dropped Butler to 4-9 in the season and 1-3 in the GWLL.
Denver plays its final game of the regular season at Air Force this Saturday. The Pioneers will then prepare to make their first-ever appearance in the NCAA tournament.
