May 2, 2003

PALO ALTO, Calif. - The University of Denver women's lacrosse team (7-5, 2-2 MPLL) completed its regular season this past week and travels to Stanford to take part in the Mountain Pacific Lacrosse League (MPLL) Championships Saturday and Sunday, May 3-4 at Maloney Field. The Pioneers, the No. 3 seed, will tackle No. 2 California at noon MT on Saturday for the chance to advance to Sunday's championship game at 2 p.m. MT. Tickets are available at www.gostanford.com ... prices are as follows: $10 for a two-day adult pass, $6 for a two-day student/child/senior pass, $6 for a one-day adult and $4 for one-day student/child/senior.

The second annual MPLL Tournament, featuring No. 14 Stanford, Denver, Cal and UC Davis, is set for Sat.-Sun., May 3-4, at Maloney Field in Stanford. Denver and Cal will square off at noon MT on Saturday, while Stanford and UC Davis will challenge each other at 2 p.m. MT. On Sunday, the losers of the two first round games will play for third place at noon MT, followed by the championship match at 2 p.m. MT. In the inaugural MPLL Championship in 2002, Cal and Stanford locked horns in the championship match as the Cardinal came out on top with a 16-7 victory. Against the all-time field, the Pioneers are 1-5 versus Cal and Stanford and 2-1 against UC Davis. This season, Denver owns a 1-2 slate versus the field (1-0 vs. UC Davis and 0-1 against Cal and Stanford).

With a 7-5 record entering the final stretch of the 2003 season, Denver is assured a .500 record for the first time since 1998. One victory this weekend would give the Pioneers its first winning season in Division I play. Through four-plus seasons, Denver owns an overall record 23-45 (.338). Junior co-captain Patience Baldwin (Baltimore, Md.) leads the nation's ninth ranked offence (12.33 gpg) with 49, scoring 46 goals and dishing out three assists. She is ranked second in goals per game (3.83) and eighth in points (4.08) in the latest NCAA statistics. First year Steph Greenlees (Lake Forest, Ill.) is the team's second leading goal-scorer, chipping in 28 goals while converting on 53 percent of her shots. Sophomore goalkeeper Steph Schneider (Leesburg, Va.) anchors the Pioneer defense, compiling a .431 save percentage as a 12-game starter.