March 2, 2002

BERKELEY, Calif. - Junior midfielder Mariana Spry (Nashua, N.H.) scored the game-winning goal, her last of three on the day, to lead the University of Denver women's lacrosse team to its first win of the season, a 10-7 come-from-behind triumph at Cal on Saturday.

The game was the first for Denver in the newly formed Mountain Pacific Lacrosse League, while Cal falls to 2-1 overall and in the MPLL. In addition to Spry, the Pioneers (1-1, 1-0 MPLL) also got a hat trick from sophomore Patience Baldwin (Baltimore, Md.).

Spry scored the game's first goal, yet Cal went on a 3-0 goal run over the next 10 minutes, and the Bears held a 4-2 lead at the half.

Cal wasted no time extending its lead when Emily Edwards scored her third of four goals just a minute into the second half. With the score 7-4 with 24 minutes to play, the Bears seemed to have things going their way. Yet a total of 16 turnovers and 20 fouls didn't help Cal's cause as Denver's stifling traps at the restraining line wreaked havoc on the Bears.

The Pioneers scored six unanswered goals in the final 20 minutes, starting with Baldwin's final tally of the contest and ending with a marker by senior Dominique Cook (Morrison, Colo.). In addition, freshmen Courtnay Gerl (Palm Beach, Fla.) and Tanya Fuchs (Bay Shore, N.Y.) also scored their first collegiate goals. Gerl also tied Cook for game-high honors with three caused turnovers.

Senior Sarah Hazard (Owings Mills, Md.) had 17 saves to anchor the Pioneer defense.

"We were timid in the first half, but we went to work in the second half," said head coach Abby Burbank. "There was definitely a difference in the way we played. We were smarter on defense. Sarah Hazard continues to be great in goal, Megan Bader continues to be consistent on defense and Courtnay Gerl had some key interceptions. Just a great game for us."

The Pioneers remain in California to play UC-Davis in another MPLL game on Sunday at 2 p.m.