The No. 6 Denver Pioneers' 2011 NCAA Tournament run will continue next weekend as they defeated the Villanova Wildcats, 13-10, on Sunday afternoon. It was the team's first NCAA Lacrosse Tournament victory, and this game was the first one hosted by a team west of the Mississippi.
Denver trailed at halftime, 7-5, but took over the second half with an 8-3 scoring advantage. The Pioneers got back into things in the third quarter when they scored three goals in a span of 45 seconds or so. Freshman Jeremy Noble had a huge game with four goals and two assists. Mark Matthews contributed three goals and an assist.
Freshman goalie Jamie Faus came up with several huge saves in the final minutes of the fourth quarter. He made 12 saves on 22 attempts on net by the Wildcats.
They will play No. 3 Johns Hopkins in Hempstead, NY on Saturday, May 21 at 12:30 p.m. MT. ESPN2 will televise the game.
Please visit College Crosse for more on the 2011 NCAA Lacrosse Tournament.