Pioneers Double-up Nittany Lions

Pioneers Double-up Nittany Lions
DU men’s lacrosse opens season with win over Penn State

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – The No. 14th-ranked University of Denver men’s lacrosse team opened its 2007 season with a 10-5 come-from-behind win over No. 17th-ranked Penn State on Saturday evening in Holuba Hall.

DU trailed 5-3 at half but solid goaltending by Jeb Hollingsworth (Darien, Conn.) in the second half, along with an eight-goal explosion, helped the Pioneers to the win.

“It was a tough-fought game,” head coach Jamie Munro said. “We were sloppy in transition and they were sharp to start the game. We kept the pressure on them. In the second half we were able to get into our style of lacrosse. We were able to play pressure defense and get up the field in transition.”

Michael Goltra (Washington, N.C.) and Joey Murray (Denver) put DU on the board early before Penn State scored five unanswered goals. Goltra scored his second goal of the evening late in the second quarter, which cut the Penn State lead to two at half.

Brett Koll (Fort Collins, Colo.) started DU’s scoring surge in the second half. Brad Richardson (Langley, B.C.), Ilija Gajic (Burnaby, B.C) and Sandon Olson (Littleton, Colo.) rounded out Denver’s scoring in the third quarter. Koll and Gajic registered their second goals of the game in the fourth quarter, and Jared Houghton (Fort Collins, Colo.) added DU’s 10th goal of the night.

Murray recorded three assists while Goltra added two assists, giving both of them four points in the game. Hollingsworth had seven saves for his first win of the year. DU won the face-offs, 9-to-8.

DU takes on No. 21 North Carolina in Chapel Hill on Saturday, Feb. 24 at 11 a.m. MT/1 p.m. ET.