Post-game quotes

DENVER - The No. 6 seeded University of Denver men's lacrosse team won its first-ever NCAA Tournament game with a 13-10 victory in the First Round in front of a record 2,575 fans at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

The game, which was the first NCAA Men's Lacrosse Tournament contest ever played west of the Mississippi River, extended DU's winning streak to a program-record 11 wins and advances the Pioneers to the Quarterfinals for the first-time in program history.

"I'm so proud of these young men," head coach Bill Tierney said. "They faced a good Villanova team that gave us everything they had and more. They really gave us fits. We had just enough steam and enough heart to go out there and win against a very good team. Congratulations to Coach Mike Corrado, his staff and his player for such a great game."

Denver (14-2) trailed by as many as three goals in the third quarter, but the Pioneers scored three goals in a 41-second span to tie it (8-8). Freshman goalie Jamie Faus (Lakeville, Conn.) made six of his 13 saves in the final quarter to hold Villanova scoreless, while DU racked up three goals to take the victory.

Freshmen Jeremy Noble (Orangeville, Ontario) doubled his career-high with six points off a career-best four goals and two assists, and junior Mark Matthews (Oshawa, Ontario) had a hat trick and an assist, all in the second half.

The Pioneers outshot the Wildcats 41-37, despite registering just 11 shots in the first half, nearly doubling Villanova's shot total in the second half.

Villanova started with quick goals just six seconds apart to give the Wildcats a 2-0 lead with 12:15 left in the first quarter, but junior Alex Demopoulos (Canton, Conn.) scored and dished an assist to tie it up.

After the Wildcats again took the lead, Noble and Paul Danko (Towson, Md.) both scored to give the Pioneers their first lead with 2:07 left in the first. However, Villanova's Jack Rice found the back of the cage with just four seconds remaining, and the teams were tied 4-4 after the first quarter.

Noble scored the first goal of the second quarter, but Villanova scored three unanswered goals to reclaim the lead and headed to halftime with a 7-5 advantage.

Villanova held a 20-11 advantage in shots and 8-6 edge in face-offs in the first half.

After Will Casertano scored his second goal of the game, the Pioneers went a tear, as Matthews, Noble and sophomore Cameron Flint (Georgetown, Ontario) each scored in a 41-second span to tie the game 8-8 with 10:48 left in the third.

The frantic third quarter continued with Matthews and Flint both scoring again to give DU a 10-9 lead with 7:18 to go before Villanova tied the game for the seventh time at 10-10, where it remained heading into the fourth quarter.

Matthews and Noble scored their third and fourth goals, respectively, to open the final quarter, giving the Pioneers a 12-10 lead with 6:58 remaining. Demopoulos added another goal to give DU a three-goal advantage, the team's largest of the contest, with 5:14 to go.

Villanova was led by Kevin Cunningham's goal and three assists, while Rice and Casertano had a pair of goals apiece. 

Denver advances to the NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals in Hempstead, N.Y., to face No. 3 Johns Hopkins on Saturday, May 21 at 12:30 p.m. MT on ESPN2 and ESPN3.com. The Bluejays beat Hofstra 12-5 in their First Round game. The winner of the quarterfinal game will advance to the NCAA Final Four in Baltimore, Md., on May 28-30.

- PIONEERS -