Denver Defeats UC Davis, 10-8, in MPSF Third-place Game

May 7, 2005

Denver Defeats UC Davis, 10-8, in MPSF Third-place Game
Pioneers win school record eighth game

MORAGA, Calif. – Junior Steph Greenlees (Lake Forest, Ill.) scored five goals on nine shots to propel the University of Denver women’s lacrosse team over the UC Davis Aggies, 10-8, in the third-place game of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championship at Saint Mary’s Stadium on Saturday, May 7. The Pioneers finish their season with a program-best eight wins against 11 losses. The Aggies end at 10-9.

UC Davis’ Katie McMahon scored three goals with two assist but Denver projected its 7-4 halftime lead. Goalkeepers Steph Schneider (Leesburg, Va.) and Becky Childs (Phoenix, Md.) combined for 11 saves against the Aggies, who actually outshot the Pioneers by a 28-19 margin.

Freshman Kelly O’Connell (Baltimore, Md.) added two goals while senior Crystal Jack (Kingwood, Texas) and freshmen Victoria Baines (Parker, Colo.) and Megan Tyrie (Littleton, Colo.) chipped in one apiece to round out the Pioneer scoring.

O'Connell's goal just 37 seconds into the game launched a 3-0 Pioneer run. After McMahon scored her first goal at the 10:13 mark to put UC Davis on the board, but O'Connell converted a free-position attempt to put her team ahead by three once again.

UC Davis’ Megan O'Connor scored an unassisted goal and McMahon connected with Kaitlin Moore on another score to trim to lead to 4-3. Denver took a leap in the scoring column with three straight goals to finish the half.

The Pioneers protected their lead as each team traded goals in the first 15 minutes of the second period. Facing a 10-6 deficit late in the game, O'Connor and McMahon each scored goals to stage a modest comeback but not enough to close the gap.

With her output Saturday, Greenlees finishes the year with a Pioneer record 57 goals and 70 points.

UC Davis (10-9) 3 5 - 8
Denver (8-12) 7 3 - 10

GOALS - UC Davis: Katie McMahon 3, Megan O'Connor 3, Kaitlin Moore 2. DU: Steph Greenlees 5, Kelly O'Connell 2, Victoria Baines 1, Crystal Jack 1, Megan Tyrie 1.

ASSISTS - UC Davis: Katie McMahon 2, Tiffany Lee 1. DU: Victoria Baines 1, Tara Bourdelaise 1, Kate Broderick 1, Tanya Fuchs 1.