Athletics & Recreation

Denver advances to BIG EAST final with win over Villanova

The University of Denver men’s lacrosse team used a 9-2 run in the middle-two quarters to down fourth-seeded Villanova, 16-9 in the BIG EAST Semifinals Thursday night at Villanova Stadium in Villanova, Pa.

“Unfortunately, but fortunately I guess, we fell behind early a couple weeks ago against Providence, but I give all the credit to my coaching staff and my team for keeping their composure when I didn’t and getting a real team win tonight,” said head coach Bill Tierney after recording his 350th win on Thursday. “We kept battling and fought through their zone and the stall warnings. Those things kept the game a little disjointed in the first half, but give our guys credit for continuing to fight to get the win out here tonight.”

Denver finished the evening with four players producing five or more points. Connor Cannizzaro, Denver’s team leader in points this season, led the Pioneers in points for the eighth time in this campaign, tallying seven points on four goals and three assists. Cannizzaro produced the same output in the first meeting between the two programs on April 3.

Wesley Berg and Erik Adamson both had five points of four goals and one assist. Sophomore Tyler Pace had a career-high five assists on the night. Pace’s assist tally ties for the third-highest in a single game in Denver history.

No. 1 seed Denver will take on No. 2 seed Georgetown in Saturday’s BIG EAST Final at 5:30 p.m. MDT on Fox Sports 2. The winner of Saturday’s final will be the conference’s automatic qualifier in next week’s NCAA Tournament. The NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Selection Show airs on ESPNU Sunday at 7 p.m. MDT.

Tickets are on sale now for the 2015 NCAA Quarterfinals at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Fans can purchase tickets for the quarterfinal games at Ticketmaster.com.

Read more about Thursday’s game at DenverPioneers.com.

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