Athletics & Recreation / Magazine Feature

Lacrosse Face-Off Classic takes place this weekend

The No. 20 Pioneers men’s lacrosse team will host the seventh annual Face-off Classic this weekend. Three teams are coming to Denver: Villanova University, Air Force Academy and University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). 

Denver (1-2, 0-0 GWLL) will face Villanova at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday and No. 19 UMBC at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday. Air Force will square off against UMBC on Saturday at 11 a.m. and Villanova on Sunday at 11 a.m.

The Pioneers are 8-4 all-time in the Pioneer Face-off Classic. DU is 2-3 against Villanova all-time. DU plays No. 19 UMBC for the second time in as many seasons, with UMBC winning the 2006 contest 12-8.

The Pioneers enter the weekend 1-2 after back-to-back losses against No. 14 UNC, 11-8, and No. 6 Duke, 13-9. Senior captains Ryan Zordani and David Hahn and junior Rory Shepard will lead the Pioneers. Junior Brett Koll leads DU with eight points on the season, while freshman Ilija Gajic has seven.

Villanova (1-1) last faced DU in 2005 when the Wildcats fell to the Pioneers by a score of 9-4, the same score Villanova defeated Denver in 2001 when the Wildcats posted their last win over the Pioneers. As of this weekend, Villanova holds a 3-2 advantage in the series record between the schools. Last season, the Wildcats notched the win with an 11-6 advantage over the Falcons. 

UMBC (1-0) opened its season last weekend with a 12-11 overtime win over Brown. UMBC finished first in the America East conference in 2006 with a 10-5 overall record. 

Closing out the field is Air Force, making its seventh consecutive appearance in the Classic. The Falcons opened up the 2007 season last weekend with an 11-7 win over Siena. 

DU’s games and live gametracker action of each game will be available on www.denverpioneers.com.

Tickets for the event are on sale now at the Ritchie Center box office or can be purchased at 303-871-2336.

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