The No. 11 Denver women’s lacrosse team defeated California-Berkeley and St. Mary’s over the weekend to qualify and then clinch the number one seed for the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Tournament.
On Friday, the Pioneers topped California-Berkeley 13-10 to clinch sole possession of first place in the conference.
“I’m really proud of our team tonight,” said head coach Liza Kelly. “We beat a very good Cal team on the road. Both teams played hard for 60 minutes, but it feels good to come out on top.”
The game was competitive throughout, with five lead changes and seven ties in the hour. The Pioneers pulled decisively ahead at 11-8 after just three minutes of an 8-8 tie score, and although Cal responded to close to gap to 11-9 and then 12-10, they could not regain the lead.
Redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Hannah Hook made eight saves in the win, including six in the critical second half.
DU’s lead scorers were sophomore attack Jill Remenapp, who recorded five points off one goal and four assists, junior attack Jenn Etzel with four goals and redshirt senior attack Kara Secora and senior midfielder Mikayla Clark with a hat trick apiece.
On Sunday, the Pioneers faced St. Mary’s, who they defeated 20-9. Although St. Mary’s scored first less than two minutes into the game, the Pioneers were able to change and keep the momentum.
Etzel and freshman midfielder Rachael McKinnon scored four goals each, while junior midfielder Annabelle Gilbride scored three. Hook made a career-high 13 saves, surrendering only six goals in 46:48 of game time.
Two Pioneers set and tied Denver records this weekend.
Remenapp set the DU and MPSF record with nine assists and three goals, while Secora recorded nine points off four goals and five assists to tie the Denver record for all-time points. Remenapp also has made a total of 62 assists this season, a DU record and the sixth highest in NCAA history.
The Pioneers now hold an overall record of 15-1 and an undefeated 7-0 in the MPSF. They will finish regular season play this Friday at 5pm against the University of Oregon at the Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium.
The Pioneers will then head to Eugene, Oregon for the MPSF Conference Tournament to be played May 2-4.
