NEWTON, Mass. – The Denver Pioneers women's lacrosse teams opens the 2022 NCAA Tournament on Friday afternoon as they face the Vermont Catamounts in first round action on the campus of Boston College.  The game will begin at 2 p.m. MT on the Newton Campus Lacrosse and Soccer Field, and it will be nationally broadcasted on ESPN+.
 
Friday's meeting marks the first-ever postseason matchup between Denver and Vermont, and the fifth in the all-time series.  The Pios own a 3-1 record in the previous four matchups vs. the Catamounts, winning each of the last two.
 
Denver is the Big East regular season and tournament championships this year and is in its fourth-straight national tournament and its sixth in program history.  The squad is 5-0 all-time in opening-round matchups, having reached the second round in each of its NCAA appearances.
 
The Pioneers are coming off a 16-15 overtime win vs. the Georgetown Hoyas on Saturday to win the Big East Tournament at Peter Barton Stadium.  DU erased a five-goal, second-half deficit and was led by Julia Gilbert's career-high eight points (5g/3a) and Bea Behrins' five tallies.  Behrins scored the overtime-winning marker to give the Pioneers their second-consecutive title.  Denver outscored Georgetown by an 8-3 margin in the second half.
 
Friday's winner will face Boston College in the second round on Sunday at 11 a.m. MT (ESPN+). BC is the No 3 overall seed in the tournament and in addition to being a host, also has a first-round bye.
 
SNAP SHOTS

• Bea Behrins leads the team with 64 goals and is three away from tying the school record for a single season, presently held by Kristie Leggio who tallied 67 in both the 2006 and 2007 seasons … Behrins' 85 points on the season are sixth most in Pioneer history and one away for tying for fourth place.
• Abby Jenkins reached 100 draw controls for the season in DU's last game vs. Georgetown and presently has 106 in 2022 … She is three away from setting the program record for the most in a single campaign (108, Maddie Baum, 2018).
• Sam Thacker's 58 caused turnovers rank as the second-most in a season in school annals (70, Katie Henrich, 2013), while Kailee Lammers' 33 CTs are ninth-most.
• Lauren Black has recorded hat tricks in five straight games.
• Sammie Morton is expected to play in her 75th career game, tied for the 10th-most in school history. Teammate Bea Behrins holds the record at 80 games played.

 
BACK-TO-BACK BIG EAST CHAMPS
The Pioneers captured its second-straight Big East Tournament title with the victory last week vs. the Hoyas. It was DU third-ever tournament championship after also winning the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation on the Denver campus in 2014.
 
DU has made it to the Big East Conference Final in each of the last five appearances, also making it in 2017, 2018 and 2019. Denver fell in OT to Georgetown in 2019 but flipped the script this season with their own extra frame victory over GU.
 
LAST WEEKEND NOTABLES

• Bea Behrins was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Big East Tournament and was joined on the All-Tournament Team by fellow attack Julia Gilbert, draw specialist Abby Jenkins and defenders Kailee Lammers and Sam Thacker.
• Denver improved to 7-3 all-time in the Big East Tournament and owns a 17-17 record in conference tournament games … DU is 6-3 in such contests on its home field.
• The Pioneers are now 2-0 in overtime games this season, winning 14-13 in extra time vs. then-No. 20 UConn on April 9.
• Denver staged its second, five-goal comeback of the season in the title game, as the Pios came back from a 6-1 deficit to win 9-8 at then-No. 8 Michigan on March 13.
• Julia Gilbert's eight points (5g/3a) in the final were a career high and tied for the second most in a conference tourney in school history.
• Gilbert and Behrins' five goals in the championship game were tied for the third-most in a conference tourney in Denver annals, as the record is six (done twice before).
• DU scored 16 goals in both games and had a DU tournament record nine assists in the semifinals.
• The Pioneers won 23 draw controls in the championship game, the most in a conference tournament contest for the squad … DU won 16 draw controls in the semis, tied for fifth-most.
• Denver had a 16-9 margin in DCs in the semifinals vs. UConn, including holding Big East Midfielder of the Year Sydney Watson to just four.
• Abby Jenkins set a Denver postseason record for draw controls in both games, winning 11 in the semifinals and 12 in the final (previous record was nine by Kiki Boone in 2014 MPSF Final vs. Stanford).
• Lauren Black has now recorded hat tricks in five straight games.
• Black recorded six points (3g/3a) in the semifinals vs. Connecticut.
• Bea Behrins set the program record for career games played (then 79) in the semifinals vs. UConn.
• Sam Thacker recorded her 100th career caused turnover in the semis, becoming just the fifth player in school history to reach the milestone.
• Goalkeepers Emelia Bohi and Victoria Macres split time in net in the title contest, with Macres picking up her fourth win of the campaign.

 
IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
Denver is in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth straight season, making it each full campaign since 2018 (was not played in 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic).  The Pioneers own a 6-5 record in the national tournament, with the farthest the team having gone was the elite eight quarterfinals in 2019.
 
Last season, DU defeated Stanford 15-13 in the first round before falling to host Northwestern 19-4 in the second round in Evanston, Ill.  Grad-student defender Molly Little recorded her first career hat trick in that contest.
 
Denver has never played an NCAA Tournament game in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
 
LAST MEETING VS. VERMONT: MARCH 12, 2017
The Pioneers, then ranked No. 16 in the country at the time, defeated Vermont 14-4 at Peter Barton Stadium five years ago.  Sophomore Julia Feiss led Denver with six goals for her first career sock trick, while Elizabeth Behrins had a hat trick with a trio of markers.  Denver received five saves from goalie Madd Stevenson, as the Pios outshot the Catamounts 43-15 in the game and connected on five-of-seven free-position shots.  The victory marked DU head coach Liza Kelly's 200th of her career, becoming the 16th coach in NCAA history to reach the mark and the 10th fastest to do so (289 games).
 
HISTORY VS. UVM
Denver and Vermont have played four times in their history, with DU owning a 3-1 all-time mark.  The Pioneers have won the last two meetings, winning 14-4 on March 12, 2017 in Denver and 13-8 on March 20, 2013 in Burlington, Vermont.  The squads first met on April 13, 2003, with DU earning a 19-17 win in a neutral site game in Babson Park, Mass.
 
SCOUTING THE CATAMOUNTS
Vermont is in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in its history and owns a 14-4 record on the season.  UVM won the America East Tournament last Saturday with a 12-11 win vs. top-seeded Albany.  The Catamounts, who went 3-3 in conference play during the year, defeated Binghamton 13-12 in the semifinals on Thursday, getting redemption from a 11-10 loss on senior day to wrap up the regular season on April 30.  Vermont is led offensively by Ava Vasile, who has 62 goals and 16 assists on the year.  Defensively, goalkeeper Sophie McLaughlin has a 12-3 record in 18 starts and owns a 9:92 goals-against average and .437 save percentage, while Carolyn Carrera ranks second in the country with 50 caused turnovers, trailing only DU's Sam Thacker (58).
 
NEW ENGLAND CONNECTIONS

• Head coach Liza Kelly began her head coaching career at Boston University from 2002-20006, helping the Terriers win the 2005 and 2006 America East Championships.
• Current volunteer assistant and alum ('21) Molly Little is from Tiverton, Rhode Island.

 
QUICK ON THE DRAW
Draw control specialist Abby Jenkins has recorded double-digit draw control wins in each of the last three games and setting career highs in both games of the Big East Tournament.
 
After wrapping up the regular season with 10 draw controls vs. Marquette on April 30, Jenkins set a new personal best and DU postseason record with 11 in the semifinals vs. Connecticut on May 5.
 
'Juice' broke her own mark in the championship game against Georgetown by winning 12, including helping the Pioneers gain possession twice in overtime.  The 12 draw control were tied for the third-most in a contest in program history (regular season or playoffs).
 
FRESHMAN PHENOM
Attacker Lauren Black is second on the team with 50 goals and 69 points (50g/19a) and has recorded a goal/point in 18-of-19 games this season, including in each of the last 12 contests (35g/15a).  Her 50 goals and 2.63 goals-per-game average both rank fifth nationally among freshmen, and she is the first rookie to record 50 goals in a season in the Big East since the conference's realignment in 2014.
 
Black is the second freshman in school history to reach the 50-goal threshold, joining Ali Curry, who tallied 59 times in 2007.  She ranks tied for 17th overall for the most tallies in a single season in the program annals and is three away from entering the top 10 (53).
 
The New Westminster, B.C., Canada, native leads the Big East with seven game-winning goals and recorded hat tricks in each of the last five games, including recording her first sock trick and a career-high seven points (6g/1a) on April 23 at Villanova.
 
ALL-REGION TEAMS ANNOUNCED
Four Denver players were named to IWLCA All-Region Teams on Thursday, with a trio of Pioneers making it on the West/Midwest Region First Team.  Attack Bea Behrins and defenders Kailee Lammers and Sam Thacker were recognized on the first team, while freshman attack Lauren Black was honored on the Second Team.
 
In total, 32 players represented West/Midwest squads and 128 players overall were honored across the four regions in the country.
 
MAGAZINE ALL AMERICANS
Three Pioneers were honored on Tuesday as USA Lacrosse Magazine All Americans.  Defender Sam Thacker was named to the media organization's first team, while attack Bea Behrins and defender Kailee Lammers won All-American Honorable Mention awards.
 
CAUSING HAVOC
DU's 246 caused turnovers this season rank as the third-most in a campaign in program history, and one behind second place of 247 set in 2013.
 
Seven of Denver's top-10 all-time caused turnovers have come in the last 10 full seasons (since 2012) and each of DU's top 10 have occurred under the watch of head coach Liza Kelly, who was hired in the 2007 season.
 

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