The 2012 NCAA Lacrosse Tournament is underway on Saturday and the Denver Pioneers will play the No. 8 overall seed North Carolina Tar Heels on Saturday evening. Unlike last year when they hosted an NCAA Tournament game, the Pioneers are on the road in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Denver went 8-6 and lost to the Loyola, Md. Greyhounds in the semifinals of the ECAC Tournament. The Pioneers could face the Greyhounds in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, but North Carolina (11-5) will be a tough test on Saturday.
The Tar Heels average 12.06 goals and allow 9.50 goals per game. Junior attacker Marcus Holman leads the offense with 33 goals and 66 points. Joey Sankey, a freshman, is second on the team with 41 points while fellow freshman Jimmy Bitter is second in goals with 26. Goalie Steve Rastivo has started all 16 games for the Tar Heels and posted a 9.78 GAA.
Denver is led by senior attacker Mark Matthews and his 39 goals (56 points). Eric Law and freshman Wes Berg follow in the goals category with 24 and 21, respectively. Alex Demopoulos is second in points with 43 and first in assists with 25.
Game time: 5:30 p.m. MT, Saturday, May 12, 2012
Location: Fetzer Field, Chapel Hill, N.C.
TV: ESPNU
And here is a look at the full bracket:
For more updates on the Denver Pioneers lacrosse team, keep it tuned into SB Nation Denver. For more on college lacrosse head over to College Crosse.