NCAA Lacrosse: Denver Men’s Lacrosse Hosts Villanova In First Round NCAA Lacrosse Tournament Game On May 15

For the first time in program history, a University of Denver men’s lacrosse team will host a first-round game of the NCAA Tournament as the No. 5/6 Pioneer welcome Villanova (11-4) to Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium, it was announced today during the NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Selection Show on ESPNU.

Denver received the automatic qualifier to the NCAA Tournament after winning the first-ever ECAC Championship with an 11-9 win over Fairfield.

The Pioneers will face the Wildcats on Sunday, May 15 at 3:15 p.m. MT at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium.

• Denver is on a program-record 10-game winning streak heading into the NCAA Tournament.
• DU’s ranking of 5th in the Nike/Inside Lacrosse Media Poll is the highest ever program ranking.
• Junior Mark Matthews leads the Pioneers with 62 points (41g, 21a); he became DU’s all-time DI leader in points with 144; he has 103 career goals, 14 away from becoming the all-time leader.
• Sophomore Chase Carraro has a 61.0 (199-326) face-off percentage going into the tournament; he has a 56.0 face-off percentage for his career, ranking him second in DU’s DI record books for career face-off percentage.
• This is the first time that the Pioneers have hosted an NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Tournament game.
• This is the fourth time that the DU men’s lacrosse team has made it to the NCAA Tournament, second under head coach Bill Tierney. Denver is 0-3 in the NCAA Tournament.