Saturday, May 10, 2008
No. 18 Denver vs. No. 7 Maryland, 10 a.m. MT
Chevy Chase Bank Field at Byrd Stadium
College Park, Md.
Live stats: www.DenverPioneers.com
Television: ESPNU
Game Overview
Denver is making its second NCAA Tournament appearance and its first since 2006, when it fell to No. 6-seeded Maryland, 16-8. Maryland has made 31 appearances in the NCAA Tournament and has won two titles. The Pioneers (10-6) earned an at-large bid to the 2008 Tournament, despite losing to Ohio State 15-8 in the semifinals of the Great Western Lacrosse League tournament. DU has won seven of its last nine games. The Terps (9-5) were also awarded one of nine at-large bids to the tournament and are coming off of a 16-10 win over Yale on Saturday.
The Series vs. the Terps
This is the fourth meeting between the two clubs and the second in postseason play. Denver trails Maryland 0-3 in the series. The last meeting between the two teams saw the Terrapins defeat the Pioneers 16-8 in the first round of the 2006 NCAA Tournament.
DU is 0-1 at home against the Terps and 0-2 in College Park, Md.
Rookie Leader
Freshman Jamie Lincoln (St. Cathariens, Ontario) leads the Pioneers with 47 goals and 51 points. The attackman set DU records for goals scored by a freshman and most goals in a season since turning Division I. Lincoln has recorded three or more goals in each of Denver’s last eight games.
The Assist Goes to…
Sophomore Charley Dickenson (Dallas, Texas) is the team’s assist leader with 19 assists on the season, part of 27 points on the year. Dickenson had six assists in all of the 2007 season.
National Tournament Experience
Nine current Pioneers have NCAA Tournament experience. When DU faced Maryland in the 2006 Tournament, a trio of current Pioneers tallied points. Junior Joey Murray (Denver, Colo.) had two goals, senior co-captain Brett Koll (Fort Collins, Colo.) had a goal and an assist, and junior Brad Richardson (Langley, B.C.) had a goal.
Transfer Contribution
All four transfers in Denver’s 2008 lineup have contributed significantly. Three of the four transfers came to DU as a result of Butler dropping its lacrosse program at the outset of the 2007 season. The former Bulldogs competing for the Pioneers are co-captain Carlos Navarro (Dallas, Texas), Mike Anderson (Louisville, Ky.), and Cliff Smith (Surrey, B.C.). Denver has also used the services of Dustin Palmer (Centennial, Colo.), who transferred to DU after three years at Syracuse.
Canadian Connection
The Pioneers have four Canadians on their 2008 roster in Cliff Smith, Jamie Lincoln, Ilija Gajic (Burnaby, B.C.) and Brad Richardson. Assistant coach Matt Brown hails from Burnaby, B.C. as well.
Getting on the Board…Quickly
Senior Jon Paulson (Flemington, N.J.) recorded a goal just 13 seconds into DU’s game against Bellarmine, marking the 10th fastest goal scored in NCAA Division I history.
GWLL Honors
Six Pioneers earned GWLL honors, led by Jamie Lincoln, who was named the GWLL Newcomer of the Year. Sophomore defender Dillon Roy (Denver, Colo.), who has 19 caused turnovers and leads the Pioneers with 14 penalties this season, joined Lincoln on the all-GWLL first team. DU’s second leading scorer Cliff Smith earned second-team honors at attack, while Ilija Gajic and Joey Murray earned all-GWLL honors for the second consecutive season, this year the duo was named to the second team at midfield. Freshman Brendan Deblois (Narragansett, R.I.) was also named all-GWLL second team at defense.
Fourth Quarter Magic
Denver has scored 56 goals in the fourth quarter this season, 14 more goals than their next highest period output. DU has allowed just 35 fourth quarter goals.
National Exposure
DU ranks in the top-20 in five of the seven NCAA categories. Denver is ranked in scoring offense (ninth-11.25 goals per game), man-down defense (13th-76.7%), win percentage (17th-62.5%), face-off win percentage (18th-52.4%), and scoring margin (20th-1.25). Five Pioneers are individually ranked in the top-50, with two in the top-10. Jamie Lincoln is fifth in the nation with 2.94 goals per game, and sophomore Ben Wahler (Denver, Colo.) is second with 6.56 ground balls per game.
Game Winners
The Pioneers have received game-winning goals from six different players this season. Cliff Smith leads the team with three, while Charley Dickenson and Ilija Gajic have two apiece. Seniors Brett Koll and Andrew Bourke (Denver, Colo.) each have one.
Overtime Thrillers
DU is 2-0 in overtime games this season after the 10-9 win over Harvard on March 29, when Cliff Smith recorded the game-winner with 1:03 remaining in the overtime period. Brett Koll scored the game-winner against Penn on March 9.
Top-10 Opponents
Denver is 1-2 against top-10 ranked opponents this season, defeating then-No. 7 Notre Dame, and losing to then-No. 9 North Carolina and then-No. 7 Cornell.
