Pioneers Face Off Against No. 2 Seed Maryland In NCAA Tournament First Round

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – May 10, 2006
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Pioneers Face Off Against No. 2 Seed Maryland In NCAA Tournament First Round
This marks the third time the Terps and Pioneers have met and the first time in the NCAA Tournament

DENVER-The No.12 Denver Pioneer men’s lacrosse team heads to the East Coast for an NCAA first-round match-up with the No.2-seeded Maryland Terrapins on Saturday, May 13. Face-off is scheduled for noon (MT) at Maryland’s Byrd Stadium. An internet broadcast of the game will be available at www.wmucsports.com. This trip marks the third meeting between the Pioneers and the Terrapins, with the Terrapins holding the 2-0 series lead.

The Pioneers enter the game fresh off their finest regular-season in school history. DU completed the regular-season with a 12-4 (5-0 GWLL) record, its best record in school history. The Pioneers recorded their first-ever undefeated home schedule by going 9-0 in Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium and also went undefeated in Great Western Lacrosse League action by posting a perfect 5-0 conference record. The Pioneers also set a school record for wins in a single season by picking up their 12th win in a 7-3 victory over Air Force on April 29. The previous record was 10 and was set during the 2000 season. DU is currently on a seven-game win streak and hasn’t dropped a game since April 3 when they fell 9-6 at Stony Brook.

Junior midfielder Ryan Zordani (Littleton, Colo.) continues to pace the Pioneers offensively. He leads the team in points with 38 on 19 goals and 19 assists. Senior Geoff Snider (Calgary, Alberta) leads the nation in groundballs per game (11.38) and face-off win percentage (.695). Goalkeeper Jeb Hollingsworth (Darien, Conn.) owns a 10-4 record on the season. His goals against average of 7.44 ranks him 14th in the nation and his saves percentage of 57.5 percent ranks him 18th in he nation. DU is nationally-ranked as a team in several categories as well. The Pioneers are sixth in scoring offense (11.00), ninth in scoring defense (7.31), second in face-off win percentage (.673), sixth in man down defense (.770), fifth in scoring margin (3.69) and seventh in win percentage (.750).

Maryland enters the game with a 10-4 (2-1 ACC) record after defeating then-No.10 Penn on May 6. The Terrapins were defeated by No.1 Virginia 11-5 in the ACC Championship on April 30. The Terps are led by ACC Player of the Year and Tewwaraton finalist Joe Waters. Waters has seen action in every game this season and leads Maryland in points with 50 on 33 goals and 17 assists. Harry Alford is in the cage for the Terrapins and owns a 9-3 record on the season and boasts a 6.39 goals against average and a 6.31 saves percentage.

The winner of the Denver/Maryland game will advance to the NCAA quarterfinals and will take on the winner of the Princeton/Maryland-Baltimore County game. The quarterfinal game will take place May 21 at Towson University. A game time will be announced at a later date.



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