The trailblazing University of Denver men’s lacrosse team rallied to win its first NCAA Tournament game Sunday, beating Villanova 13-10 in the inaugural Division I contest of its kind outside the Eastern and Central time zones.
The Pioneers, who trailed 8-5 early in the third quarter before an overflow crowd of 2,575 at Peter Barton Stadium, outscored the pesky Wildcats 3-0 in the fourth quarter. DU will bring a program-record, 11-game winning streak into this week’s national quarterfinals.
“I’m just so, so proud of these young men,” said DU second-year coach Bill Tierney, his voice cracking with emotion. “(Villanova) played a hard, unique style that really gave us fits. . . . We were hoping we wouldn’t just take this as the first game west of the Mississippi (River), and that being enough, and I thought in the first half we kind of played like that.”
Sixth-seeded DU (14-2) will face No. 3 Johns Hopkins (13-2) on Saturday in Hempstead, N.Y. (12:30 p.m. MDT, ESPN2).
Junior attackman Mark Matthews (three goals, assist) and freshman goalie Jamie Faus (13 saves) were excellent for DU after both struggled early. Freshman midfielder Jeremy Noble (four goals, six points) was the Pioneers’ MVP, and junior attack Alex Demopoulos and sophomore middie Cameron Flint chipped in two goals apiece.
“We had enough steam, enough heart and just enough class to win a game against a very good team,” Tierney said.
Matthews was scoreless at halftime but got going in the third quarter, scoring two of DU’s five goals and assisting on another.
Matthews scored his first of the game and 42nd of the year with 11:29 to play in the quarter, beginning a stretch of three goals in 41 seconds as the Pioneers forged an 8-8 tie.
Showing his quick hands off a rebound in front of the cage, Matthews collected his third goal and fourth point early in the fourth quarter to give the Pioneers an 11-10 lead. Noble got his fourth with 6:58 left and Chase Carraro won the ensuing faceoff, drew a penalty and the Pioneers worked on the clock.
Demopoulos made it 13-10 with 5:14 left, and Faus made three exceptional saves down the stretch.
“Exciting game, 10-10 going into the fourth quarter,” Villanova coach Michael Corrado said. “They just outplayed us in the fourth quarter.”
Faus was 6-of-6 on saves in the fourth quarter after allowing three goals on the Wildcats’ first four shots.
“I kept on telling myself, ‘See the ball, see the ball,’ and I was able to gain some confidence in the third quarter, making a couple saves in a row, and that carried over to the fourth,” Faus said.
Matthews, who as a junior is already DU’s all-time leading scorer, finished with a team-high 11 shots — almost all in the second half.
“They were doing a good job shutting me off in the first half, and we really weren’t moving our feet,” Matthews said. “In the second half, we were moving our feet and (defenders) were forced to slide off me, and I was fortunate to get the ball and put it in the net.”
Said Tierney, “Mark put on quite a clinic there in the third quarter, and Jamie took it over in the fourth.”
Mike Chambers: 303-954-1357 or mchambers@denverpost.com
NCAA Tournament
FIRST ROUND
Saturday’s results
Johns Hopkins 12, Hofstra 5
Notre Dame 13, Penn 6
Duke 15, Delaware 14
Cornell 12, Hartford 5
Sunday’s results
Denver 13, Villanova 10
Maryland 13, North Carolina 6
Virginia 13, Bucknell 12, OT
Syracuse 10, Siena 4
QUARTERFINALS
Saturday’s games
At James Shuart Stadium
Hempstead, N.Y.
Cornell vs. Virginia, 10 a.m.
Johns Hopkins vs. Denver, 12:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 22
At Gillette Stadium
Foxborough, Mass.
Syracuse vs. Maryland, 10 a.m.
Notre Dame vs. Duke, 1:30 p.m.
