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The Pioneers opened their 2011 campaign last Sunday with a 13-7 loss to No. 1-ranked Syracuse University at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, N.Y.

DU was ranked No. 12 heading into the contest, but has dropped to No. 16 in the Inside Lacrosse national ranking after trailing the top-ranked Orange the entire game.

“We have a solid group of young and talented players on our team, and this was a challenging experience for them to come in and play against one of the best teams in the country,” said head coach Bill Tierney.

The Pioneers found themselves down 4-0 early, and finished down 6-2 at the end of the quarter.

The second half did not help the Pioneers any better than the first half did as the Orange tallied up five goals in the third quarter to give the Pioneers a huge deficit.

The fourth quarter was the best for DU, allowing one goal and scoring two, but the deficit was just too much for them to handle.

“Even though the result is fairly similar to last year, I am very proud of how we played out there today because I thought we played a good game and showed we are an improved team,” said Tierney.

Last season, DU lost 15-9 too in its season opener at the Carrier