Denver vs. Princeton Recap | 2017 Schedule | New Season Ticket Deposits

DENVER - The University of Denver men's lacrosse team will be hosting the Canadian National Team Saturday afternoon at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium. Saturday's matchup will mark the return of 2015 grad Wesley Berg (Coquitlam, B.C.), 2014 grad Jeremy Noble (Orangeville, Ontario), 2012 grad Mark Matthews (Oshawa, Ontario) and 2010 grad Dillon Roy (Denver, Colo.). All four players played on Canada's 2014 FIL World Championship team.

"We're really excited to have Team Canada out to Denver to play at Peter Barton Stadium," associate head coach Matt Brown said. "It's pretty special to have four of our great Pioneers come back for this special weekend. It's a busy weekend. We're looking forward to a great game. I expect all four of these players to be leaders on the 2018 national team going forward.

"In talking to all four of them, they are very eager to get back out to Denver. It's going to be an emotional weekend for them getting the opportunity to play in front of their old home crowd while at the same time competing for a spot on the world team in 2018."

The 2015 Colorado Sports Hall of Fame Male Collegiate Athlete of the Year, Berg led the 2015 Denver Pioneers to the program's first National Championship. Denver's first Tewaaraton Award Finalist was named the Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Tournament in 2015, netting the overtime game-winner against Notre Dame two days before scoring five in the national title game against Maryland. Berg currently holds Denver's career points (255) and career goals (188) records. Berg plays professionally for the 2016 MLL Champion Denver Outlaws and plays NLL for the Calgary Roughnecks.

Noble, now entering his second season as Denver's volunteer assistant coach, finished his career second in assists with 80. Most notably, Noble was the first of two Pioneers to tally 10 points in a Division I game, doing so in the NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals against North Carolina (Berg did so later). Noble was a three-time USILA All-American in his career, earning second team honors in Denver's first season in the BIG EAST in 2014. The Ontario native reached Championship Weekend in three of his four collegiate seasons, and now plays professionally for the Atlanta Blaze (MLL) and Colorado Mammoth (NLL).

"It's going to be an interesting day, it'll be a lot of fun," Noble said. "I think once the game starts I think I'll forget about all of that. Anytime you're able to represent your country and put your country's flag on, it's pretty special. Obviously we're coming out playing to win, and it's a tryout for a lot of us for the 2018 team. We're here to make an impression on the staff.

"It'll bring back some good memories to be able to step on the Peter Barton Stadium turf as a player again. I'm excited to see everyone, and it'll be a homecoming for a lot of us."

Prior to Berg, Matthews held both the career points and goals records, finishing with 216 points and 155 goals in his four-year career. As a junior, the two-time Second Team All-American helped lead the Pioneers to their first Championship Weekend appearance in 2011, scoring 46 goals for the Crimson and Gold. Matthews plays professionally for the NLL Champion Saskatchewan Rush and the Atlanta Blaze.

Head coach Bill Tierney's first captain in the Denver chapter of his career, Roy was both a scholar and USILA All-American in 2010 as a staple of the Pioneers' defense. Roy holds Denver's single game Division I record for caused turnovers in a game with seven, holds the program's Division I single-season record for caused turnovers with 31 and holds the Division I career record for caused turnovers with 82. Roy plays professionally for the 2016 MLL Champion Denver Outlaws.

A member of the Pioneers prior to the Tierney era and a teammate of Brown's, Geoff Snider will be on the Team Canada sideline coaching for the national team on Saturday.

Season Tickets:

Season ticket holders will get their 2017 invoices in the mail later this fall. Fans interested in becoming new season ticket holders for the 2017 season can put down their deposit, by clicking here.

About Denver:

Following its 2015 National Championship, the Pioneers went 13-3 in 2016, winning their third-consecutive BIG EAST Regular Season Championship, stretching the program's record to 16-straight regular season conference wins in three years. DU's 2016 Tewaaraton Award Finalist Connor Cannizzaro (Cazenovia, N.Y.) is one of five All-Americans returning for the Crimson and Gold.

Head coach Bill Tierney will enter his eighth season in charge of the Pioneers in 2017 and his 33rd collegiate season overall. The two-time USILA Division I National Coach of the Year will enter the campaign with a 368-121 record, including 96-28 since his move to the "Lacrosse Capital of the West."

Fans interested in making a donation to the men's lacrosse program can do so by clicking here. Your contribution will make a direct impact on the success of YOUR Pioneers. Thank you in advance for your unwavering support of our student-athletes and their quest for excellence.

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