Jan. 22, 2003

Denver - The Pioneers will challenge another difficult schedule this season against seven nationally ranked opponents including three top-10 teams. After opening the year against Quinnipiac, Denver will host the third-annual Pioneer Face-Off Classic (Feb. 22- Feb. 23). Manhattan, Air Force and No. 7 Duke will take part in the invitational with the Pioneers playing both Eastern universities. Next for the squad will be an away game against 20th-ranked Army. Denver will then briefly return home to play Siena before traveling to play No. 9 North Carolina and Great Western Lacrosse League (GWLL) opponent No. 17 Notre Dame. The Pioneers then return home for a four-game home stand against in-state rival Colorado College, Hobart, and GWLL foes Butler and 19th-ranked Ohio State. Denver will close out their away schedule against 2002 upstart No. 22 Fairfield and 2002 NCAA tourney-semifinalist No. 4 Virginia. The season ends at Pioneer Field against the Air Force Academy. "Our schedule is again ultra-competitive," says Munro. "The Great Western Lacrosse League is more competitive then ever and our out of conference opponents consist of five top-20 teams."

ATTACK Looking to build upon their stellar performances last year, sophomores Matt Brown (Burnaby, B.C.) and Erik Swanson (Glenview, Ill.) will lead the Pioneer attack this season. As a freshman Brown had a breakout season, leading the Denver scorers with 32 goals and eight assists. Swanson wasn't far behind. He accumulated 14 goals and led the team in assists with 17. Junior Mike Kenlay (Wilmette, Ill.) will return as a strong contributor as well. He scored 17 goals and nine assists last year and played as both an attackman and midfielder. Darren Sasaki-Scanlon (Norwalk, Conn.) has made a successful transition from midfield to attack, beginning with a four goal performance in his first start at the position in last year's Delaware game and sophomore Greer Hanlon (Libertyville, Ill.) found the back of the net four times and added three assists. Greer is a big post up threat who can shoot very well and put pressure on the defense. New to the Pioneer's front line will be exciting freshmen Adam Miller (Columbus, OH) and Greg Wiegel (Port Republic, MD) who both are very quick, skilled, and athletic.

MIDFIELD Junior Jeff Biggs (St. Louis, Mo.) will return to frustrate opposing defenses as Denver's top-scoring midfielder. Biggs fired in 22 goals and had six assists as well last season. Joining Biggs will be the scoring touch of freshman Geoff Snider (Calgary, Alberta) who was impressive in the fall scoring goals, facing off, and getting loose balls. Junior Andrew "Wally" Huelskoetter (St. Louis, Mo.) had a great fall campaign and adds great skill, shooting and playmaking ability to the team. Sophomores Ben Dougherty (Glenwood, Md.) and Scott Davidson (Guilford, Conn.) are tremendously athletic, can break down a defense and run the field. Blake Evans (New Canaan, Conn.), another sophomore, is a great shooter and will be looking to impact the extra-man opportunities and score big goals. Senior Mike Petrucci (Roseville, Mich.) is incredibly versatile and plays a very intelligent game. A great leader, Petrucci will anchor the defense while providing great playmaking on offense. Freshmen Adam Goodwin (Columbus, Ohio) and Adam Swain (West Simsbury, Conn.) are two midfielders who will push for playing time. Both are great athletes with excellent shooting abilities. Senior Glenn Berglund (Norwalk, Conn.) added two points with a goal and a helper last season and will look to make an impact in his final year. Adding to the squad's firepower will be juniors Sean McDonagh (New Canaan, Conn.) and Mike Hadden (Columbus, Ohio). Hadden missed last season with a knee injury and is one of the best shooters on the team. He will be looked to as a scorer and a two-way midfielder to take advantage of his athletic ability. Providing strong leadership and defensive support will be the veteran juniors George Hein (Denver, Colo.) and Joe Archambault (Flemington, N.J.). Davidson will return as Denver's face-off guru and will direct potential fast break goals off the draw. Davidson won 168 of 292 face-offs last year for the Pioneers (57%) and on top of that tallied four goals, four assists and led the team in ground balls with 83. Snider and Hadden will also provide much needed depth at the face-off "X".

LONGSTICK MIDFIELDERS Senior John Sanders (St. Louis, Mo.) and junior Ethan Goodwin (Columbus, Ohio) have both made the move to longstick middie. Both are great athletes with strength, speed and skill. Newcomer freshman Andrew MacDonnel (West Hartford, Conn.) had a great fall season and proved to be one of the smartest, skilled players on the team and will certainly push Goodwin and Sanders for playing time.

DEFENSE The Pioneer back-line will be guided by the experience gained from junior Cory Vann (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.). Vann started all 14 games for Denver last season. As the Pioneer's most decorated defenseman and one of the nation's best, Vann picked up 21 ground balls and scored twice. He will be used to cover the opponent's best. The very athletic sophomore Christian Anderson (Madison, Conn.) will return to anchor the close defense and has moved from the longstick midfield position he held last season. He collected 31 ground balls last year and showed offensive potential with two assists as well. Junior Neil Johnson (Haymarket, Va.) will look to regain his 2001 dominance this season with his versatility. Johnson gathered six ground balls and won two face-offs in limited action last season. Two dominating sophomore players in John Corbin (Downington, Penn.) and Billy McKinney (Philadelphia, Penn.) will also look to build upon last year. Corbin played in 10 games, collected eight ground balls and rocked opponents with his intimidating style of play. McKinney played in all 14 games last year and was consistently tenacious with his pursuit of ground balls (winning 15). Senior Glenn Gordon (Yarmouth, ME) will make a return to the lineup after playing in the 2001 season to add depth. First-year players Bart Sullivan (Dublin, Ohio) and Andrew McCuiston (Birmingham, MI) will look to break into the starting 14 and ensure the long-term success of Pioneer defense. Both Sullivan and McCuiston will look to impact this year's team with their strength, speed and skill.

GOALKEEPERS Senior team captain Jeff Nunziato (Latham, N.Y.) returns as Denver's hailed goaltender and will look to build upon his outstanding 2002 performance. Nunziato had the seventh-best goals against average in the country (7.83) and led the team in ground balls with 45 last year. The Pioneer net will be safe with his quick reflexes, which led to the 19th-best save percentage in the country (59.1%). Backing up Nuziato for the second season will be sophomore Brian Sanders (Columbus, Ohio), a solid keeper who posted a 9.27 goals against average and 48.8% save percentage.