COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (May 6) -- Geoff Bieging scored four first-half goals and the University of Denver reeled off seven straight tallies in a decisive second half as the Pioneers handled host Air Force 12-4 on Saturday. Denver (10-4, 2-2 Great Western Lacrosse League) end the 2000 regular season with their best record in 13 years while defeating the Falcons (2-12, 0-4 GWLL) for the second straight season.
Air Force's Eric Lederer opened the scoring in a tightly contested first period with a goal with 3:34 left in the opening frame. Bieging, however, pulled the Pioneers even a little more than 30 seconds later with his first marker of the game. He then gave Denver a three-goal cushion by scoring the first three goals of the second period. Mike Petrucci advanced the Pioneer edge to 5-1 with his goal at 5:09 of the second quarter, but Air Force rallied to cut the score to 5-3 at the break on back-to-back goals by Nathan Koss.
The Pioneers charged out of the gate in the second half with seven unanswered goals. Travis Taylor, Mike Kenlay, Winslow Lewis and McAdory Lipscomb found the back of the net and spurred Denver to a 9-3 lead in a decisive third period while goaltender Brian Berger held the Falcons at bay with four saves. The Pioneers pushed the score to 12-3 in the fourth quarter on markers by Mike Law, Lewis and Adam Stifel before Air Force's Kyle Warf snapped the Denver run with a tally with 1:04 remaining in regulation.
Bieging led all scorers with four goals and one assist on the afternoon. Law and Taylor each added a goal and two assists for the Pioneers while Lewis had two goals and a helper. Berger stopped 13 shots for Denver while Air Force's Billy Arnold made 15 saves.
GAME SUMMARYDenver (10-4, 2-2 GWLL) 1-4-4-3--12Air Force (2-12, 0-4 GWLL) 1-2-0-1--4FIRST PERIOD1 03:43 AF Eric Lederer (J. Agnew)1 03:03 DU Geoff Bieging (Travis Taylor)SECOND PERIOD13:57 DU Geoff Bieging (Mike Law)11:16 DU Geoff Bieging (Mike Law)06:46 DU Geoff Bieging (Adam Stifel)05:09 DU Mike Petrucci01:54 AF Nathan Koss ( J. Agnew)00:15 AF Nathan Koss (Kyle Warf)THIRD PERIOD12:30 DU Travis Taylor10:12 DU Mike Kenlay (Winslow Lewis)08:04 DU Winslow Lewis (Travis Taylor)05:32 DU McAdory LipscombFOURTH PERIOD09:15 DU Mike Law (Geoff Bieging)06:17 DU Winslow Lewis02:35 DU Adam Stifel01:04 AF Kyle WarfShots: Air Force 21, Denver 41 Ground Balls: Air Force 25, Denver 35 EMO: Air Force 0-2, Denver 1-4Penalties: Air Force 5-4:30, Denver 2-2:00Face-Offs Won/Lost: Air Force 4-14: Denver 14/4Goalie Saves: Air Force - Billy Arnold 15 (12 ga), Denver - Brian Berger 13 (3 ga), Jeff Nunziato 0 (1 ga)Clears/Failed: Denver 40/7, Air Force 14/5
