DENVER Junior Cliff Smith (Surrey, B.C.) and freshman Jamie Lincoln (St. Cathariens, Ontario) combined for nine goals as the No. 20 University of Denver men’s lacrosse team defeated visiting No. 16 Colgate 15-5 at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium Saturday afternoon.

 

“This win was a great way to start our season,” head coach Jamie Munro said. “We knew Colgate was a highly ranked opponent, and we came out to prove ourselves this afternoon.”

 

Six Pioneers had multi-point games as Smith led Denver with five goals and Lincoln added four in his debut for DU.

 

Denver (1-0-0) received two goals and one assist each from senior Brett Koll (Fort Collins, Colo.) and sophomore Ilija Gajic (Burnaby, B. C.).

 

Colgate (0-1-0) took a 1-0 lead less than one minute into the game off a Brandon Corp goal. The Pioneers responded with seven straight goals, including back-to-back goals by Koll in a span of 1:03 to open the Denver scoring.

 

With 11:34 remaining in the second period, Colgate’s Corp netted his and the team’s second goal of the game. However, Lincoln’s third goal of the game put Denver up 8-2 with 2:54 to go in the half. The Pioneers held the six-goal lead at halftime.

 

“Today was a good team effort,” Munro said. “We knew some of our new guys were going to be scoring goals. We feel really good about the team’s balanced offense because we have lots of guys who we know can score.”

 

Lincoln netted his fourth goal of the game with 12:15 remaining in the third period before sophomore John Dickenson (Dallas, Texas) increased Denver’s lead to 10-2 at the 5:25 mark of the third period.

 

In the final 2:43 of the third, Colgate’s Kevin Colleluori and Denver’s Smith each scored a pair of goals.

 

Corp scored his third goal of the game off an unassisted effort with 14:54 to play, bringing Colgate within seven at 12-5. However, it was not enough for the visiting Raiders as the Pioneers scored three unanswered goals in the game’s final 13:25 for the 15-5 victory.

 

Denver faces No. 8/10 North Carolina on Saturday, Feb. 23 at 1:30 p.m. at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium before opening its road schedule on March 1 at UMBC at 11 a.m.