DENVER - Junior Mark Matthews (Oshawa, Ontario) led the Pioneers with eight points to tie the DU single-game record for most points in a game as the University of Denver men's lacrosse (2-1) team dominated the Jacksonville Dolphins (1-2) in the second game of the 11th Annual DU Face-Off Classic on Saturday afternoon at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium.

Matthews tied a record previously set by Joey Murray in 2007 in a 12-11 overtime win against Villanova in the DU Face-Off Classic.

"A great deal of credit for our offensive performance today needs to go to our assistant coach Matt Brown ," said head coach Bill Tierney. "He really prepared our offensive this week for Jacksonville and was able to get our kids some great scoring opportunities. I'm very happy with our performance and we really needed this win to get the momentum going for our game tomorrow against Manhattan."

Leading the Pioneers in the goal-scoring category was junior Alex Demopoulos (Canton, Conn.) who finished with five goals, two shy of the single-game record that was previous set by assistant coach Matt Brown in 2005 against Sacred Heart. Demopoulos also finished with one assist for six points on the day.

Senior Andrew Lay (Denver, Colo.) and sophomore Cameron Flint (Georgetown, Ontario) both finished with two goals.

Also chipping in for Denver with one goal apiece were Todd Baxter (Eden Prairie, Minn.), Eric Law (Centennial, Colo.), Taylor Young (Littleton, Colo.), Paul Danko (Towson, Md.), Hayden Schuette (Encinitas, Calif.), Patrick Rogers (Portland, Ore.), Jeremy Noble (Orangeville, Ontario) and Henry Miketa (Fort Collins, Colo.).

Defensively, redshirt junior Brendan DeBlois (Narragansett, R.I.), senior Steve Simonetti (Dublin, Ohio) and freshman Harley Brown (New Canaan, Conn.) recorded two caused turnovers, while Noble tallied eight ground balls.

Freshman Chase Carraro (Louisville, Ky.) provided a spark for the Pioneer offense as he won 16-of-24 face-offs, grabbed six ground balls and recorded one assist. Sophomore Chace Calkin (Englewood, Colo.) also saw time at the face-off spot winning 4-of-7.

Denver held the advantage in shots (49-24) and ground balls (50-41). The Pioneers were also a perfect 18-of-18 on clears for the game, while the Dolphins went 16-of-21. Denver also scored 7-of-9 of its goals with an extra-man advantage, while Jacksonville was only able to capitalize on 2-of-5 opportunities.

The Pioneers won 20-of-31 face-offs compared to the Dolphins' 11-of-31. Jacksonville did register 13 saves compared to DU's 11.

TJ Kenary led Jacksonville with three goals, while Cameron Mann, Donovan Lange, Jeremy Tissenbaum, Bobby Stockton and Kyle Rebman all scored.

Demopoulos, Lay and Matthews provided the first three goals of the game, before Jacksonville's Cameron Mann was able to get the Dolphins on the board with four seconds remaining in the quarter. Jacksonville opened the second quarter with a goal from Donovan Lange, but DU's Flint and Matthews scored the next two to give the Pioneers a 5-2 advantage with 7:23 left to play.

Jacksonville's Kenary scored the next two to cut the deficit to one goal before Demopoulos scored his second of the game with 3:29 remaining in the half.

Denver's offensive came out on fire in the third quarter, outscoring Jacksonville 11-3 to take a 17-7 advantage heading into the fourth quarter. The Pioneers scored the first three goals to open the fourth quarter as Demopoulos, Danko and Schuette all scored. Jacksonville's Rebman ended the scoring draught by the Dolphins with 2:31 remaining in the game.

In the first game of the DU Face-Off Classic, the Air Force Falcons knocked off Manhattan 16-10. Action continues tomorrow as Air Force will face Jacksonville at 11 a.m. MT, followed by the Pioneers game against Manhattan at 1:30 p.m. MT. Denver is 3-0 against Manhattan in the all-time series. Both teams last met on Feb. 25, 2006 as the Pioneers defeated the Jaspers 19-2 in the Face-Off Classic.

Both games are available via Live Stats, while the Pioneers' game against the Jaspers will be available on Pioneer Vision and CoverItLive all through DenverPioneers.com.

TICKETS

Season tickets are still available for $58 for adults and $30 for children (12-under). Individual game tickets are also available for $9 with children ages two and under free (must sit on a lap). Individual game tickets for the Notre Dame game are $15. DU students are free with a valid Pioneer Card. For more information about season and individual game tickets, call 303-871-2336.

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