It was a tale of two halves for the Pioneer men’s lacrosse team on Saturday at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium.

Playing in their final home game of the season, DU notched only one goal in the first half against in-state and Great Western Lacrosse League rival Air Force Academy, but then exploded in the second half, finding the back of the net 10 times to register a much needed, come-from-behind victory.

With eight different goal scorers in the game, the Pioneers used a balanced scoring attack to pull out the 11-9 victory on Saturday.

The Falcons of AFA, who have struggled much of this season, started strong in a lackluster first half against the Pioneers. The Falcons opened the scoring 6:26 into the game, which ended up being the only goal of the first quarter.

Despite out-shooting AFA 14-7 in the opening quarter, the Pioneers could not find a way to sneak a shot past Falcons’ goalkeeper Daniel Bellissimo.

The Pioneers finally got on the scoreboard just two minutes into the second quarter when sophomore midfielder Joey Murray netted his 20th goal of the season to tie the game at 1-1.

AFA then answered with three straight goals and more strong play from Bellisimo to take a 4-1 lead into halftime.

The second half was a different story for the Pioneers, however, as they touched the twine early and often.

Senior attackman Brandon Barcus started the DU scoring outburst when he beat Bellisimo with a hard shot just 1:45 into the third quarter.

Then, after the Falcons stretched their lead to 6-2, the Pioneers scored consecutive goals for the first time in the game, cutting the lead to two.

The Falcons once again fired back with a goal of their own, but the Pioneers rattled off three straight goals, starting with a blast from senior attacker Ryan Zordain, to tie the game at 7-7 heading into the final quarter.

AFA outscored the Pioneers 2-1 to start off the fourth quarter, taking a 8-9 lead.

But the Pioneers answered, scoring the final three goals of the game, giving them the 11-9 victory.

Junior attacker Jon Paulson scored two goals in the game, including the game-winner, putting his season total at a team-leading 24 goals. Zordani also netted two goals, while dishing out an assist.

The win improved the Pioneers’ record to 8-7 (3-2 GWLL), guaranteeing DU yet another above .500 season.

The Pioneers will close out their season on the road when they take on the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia on Saturday at 11 a.m. MT.