MORAGA, Calif. Sophomore Lexi Sanders (Greenwood Village, Colo.) scored four goals and junior Megan Carver (Baltimore, Md.) added a goal and four assists, helping the No. 19 University of Denver women’s lacrosse team topple Saint Mary’s 20-8 on Sunday afternoon to close out the regular season.

 

The Pioneers (12-5, 5-0 MPSF) swept the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation regular season schedule for the second-straight year and are 14-1 in the past three seasons.

 

After SMC (2-14, 0-5) took an early lead, senior Megan Tyrie (Greenwood Village, Colo.), Sanders and junior Karen Morton (Adelaide, Australia) all scored within a five-minute stretch.

 

The Gaels tied the game with just over 15 minutes remaining in the first half, but freshman Jocelyn Kuchta (Ridgefield, Conn.) responded with a pair of goals 85 seconds apart.

 

Saint Mary’s cut the lead back to one with a goal, but junior Dani Espinosa (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and sophomore Megan Zeman (Littleton, Colo.) both scored in the final 10 minutes of the period to give Denver a 7-4 halftime lead.

 

The Pioneers blew the game open in the second half, scoring seven-straight goals in the first 5:30, including three by Sanders and one each from Zeman, Carver, freshman Tulley Stapp (Denver, Colo.) and sophomore Ali Flury (Arnold, Md.).

 

The Gaels cut the lead by two, but DU went on a 5-0 run to put it away. Flury completed a hat trick, and junior Steph Coyne (Baltimore, Md.) scored. Junior Molly Snively (Castle Rock, Colo.), who entered the game with five career goals, doubled her previous season total with a hat trick against the Gaels and added an assist.

 

The NCAA leader in caused turnovers, Denver forced 12 turnovers in the game, including three from reigning MPSF Player of the Week senior Kelly O'Connell (Baltimore, Md.), and two from Morton.

 

Morton’s goal today increased her career total to 134, tying her with Kristie Leggio for third on DU’s all-time list. Steph Greenlees (2003-06) scored 187 goals for the Pioneers, and Patience Baldwin (2001-04) had 148.

 

Denver’s 20 goals tie for eighth on the team’s single-game record list. This was the fourth time this season that DU scored at least 20 goals.

 

Coyne, whose second assist against Cal on Saturday broke Denver’s single season record, past Greenlees for third on the Pioneers’ single season points list with 77 this year. Leggio holds the top two spots with 111 last season and 104 in 2006.

 

After their first round bye, the Pioneers will begin the MPSF Tournament in Berkeley on Wednesday at 2 p.m. with their opponent to be determined.