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Pioneers Set to Take on Ohio State on Saturday

Published
by
Colorado Lacrosse
on April 16, 2008
in Men and College
.

Saturday, April 19, 2008 #17 Denver vs. #11 Ohio State, 9 a.m. Ohio Stadium (102,329)

Game Overview
Denver enters the weekend riding at six-game winning streak, having beaten both Quinnipiac and Bellarmine in Great Western Lacrosse League play over the weekend. Junior Cliff Smith (Surrey, B.C.) and freshman Jamie Lincoln (St. Cathariens, Ontario) recorded 11 and 10 points, respectively, over the weekend. Lincoln had his first career “sock trick” against the Bobcats, as he recorded six goals.

Ohio State is coming off a 14-11 win over No. 8 North Carolina on Saturday. Kevin Buchanan leads OSU with 49 points on the season, including seven vs. the Tarheels. Nick Carr is the Buckeyes’ leading face-off man, winning 49.3 percent of face-offs, while Stefan Schroder is stopping 59.2 percent of shots this season.

The Series vs. the Buckeyes
This is the 13th meeting between the two clubs and the 12th as members of the GWLL. The Pioneers trail Ohio State 4-8 in the series and have split the last four meetings. DU is 4-2 at home but 0-6 in Columbus. This game will be played as part of Ohio State’s “Scarlet and Gray Days”, as the Buckeyes try to break national attendance records in both football and lacrosse. The lacrosse game will be held prior to the Ohio State spring football game.

Streakin’ at the Right Time
DU is riding a six-game winning streak, its longest of the season and best since a seven-game winning streak in the 2006 season. The Pioneers’ season-high win streak a season ago was two games.

Upping His Efforts
Sophomore Dillon Roy (Denver, Colo.) is arguably DU’s top defender with 35 ground balls and 19 cause turnovers. Roy also leads the team with 11 penalties for nine minutes.

Freshman on Top
Freshman Jamie Lincoln (St. Cathariens, Ontario) recorded a “sock trick” against Quinnipiac on Friday evening. His six goals and one assist led the team in the win. Lincoln broke assistant coach Matt Brown’s rookie scoring record of 32 goals, as he has 35 on the season. Denver’s Division I scoring record is 36, also set by Brown, which Lincoln trails by one with two regular season games remaining.

Leading the Streak
The Pioneers have dominated during the six-game winning streak, receiving double digit scoring efforts from five players, including 25 from freshman Jamie Lincoln (St. Cathariens, Ontario) and 17 from junior Cliff Smith (Surrey, B.C.). Denver has gotten points from 21 of its 36 players during the stretch.

Getting on the Board…Quickly
Senior Jon Paulson (Flemington, N.J.) recorded a goal 13 seconds into the game against Bellarmine on Sunday, marking the 10th fastest goal scored in NCAA Division I history.

National Exposure
In addition to head coach Jamie Munro being honored as the USLA Coach of the Week last week and freshman Jamie Lincoln (St. Cathariens, Ontario) being named Nike/Inside Lacrosse Player of the Week, the Pioneers are ranked in the top-52 in six of seven of the NCAA categories. Denver is ninth in scoring offense, averaging 11.15 goals per game.

Individually, four pioneers are ranked in the top-50, led by Lincoln, who is seventh in the nation in goals per game (2.69) and 33rd in points per game (3.0). Sophomore Ben Wahler (Denver, Colo.) ranks fourth nationally in ground balls per game (6.31).

Game Winners
The Pioneers have gotten game-winning goals from five different players this season. Junior Cliff Smith (Surrey, B.C.) leads the team with three, while sophomore Charley Dickenson (Dallas, Texas) and Ilija Gajic (Burnaby, B.C.) have two apiece.

The Assist Goes to
Sophomore Charley Dickenson (Dallas, Texas) is the team leader with 15 assists on the season, part of 20 points on the year. Dickenson had six assists in all of 2007.

Overtime Thrillers
Denver and Ohio State have played in two overtime games in the series history, with OSU holding the 2-0 advantage after having won, 10-9, a season ago in Denver. DU is 2-0 in overtime games this season after the 10-9 win over Harvard on March 29, when junior Cliff Smith (Surrey, B.C.) recorded the game-winner with 1:03 remaining in the overtime period. Senior Brett Koll (Fort Collins, Colo.) scored the game-winner against Penn on March 9.

Ranked Opponents
Denver is 2-3 against ranked opponents this season, defeating then-No. 16 Colgate and then-No. 7 Notre Dame, and losing to then-No. 9 North Carolina, then-No. 20 Towson and then-No. 7 Cornell.