The Denver Pioneers could see its first Tewaaraton Trophy award winner (top NCAA Lacrosse player) in 2012 if Mark Matthews has anything to say about things. He is the Pioneers' lone representative on the 2012 Tewaaraton Trophy Watch List, which includes 63 other persons of interest this season.
Matthews scored 46 goals and totaled 70 points as a junior in 2011, a season in which the Pioneers made the Final Four of the NCAA Lacrosse Tournament. He and the Pioneers lost to the 2011 Tewaaraton Trophy winner, Steele Stanwick, and his NCAA champion Virginia Cavaliers in the semifinals. Stanwick returns for his senior season to defend the trophy he won after scoring 32 goals and picking up 70 points.
The list will see additions during the season before it is cut to 25 nominees in late April. Five players will be announced as finalists in mid-May.
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