DENVER – The No. 5 seed University of Denver men's lacrosse program will make its first trip to the national quarterfinals since 2018 when the Pios take on fourth-seeded Syracuse at Johnny Unitas Stadium on Sunday at 12 p.m. ET/10 a.m. MT. DU's trip to Towson will be broadcast live on ESPNU and 104.3 The Fan HD3.
The winner of Sunday's national quarterfinal will take on the winner of No. 1 Notre Dame and No. 8 Georgetown in the national semifinal at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on Saturday, May 25. ESPN2 will have live coverage for the entirety of Championship Weekend.
SERIES HISTORY:
Syracuse has a 4-0 advantage in the all-time series. The Orange visited the Mile High City for the Faceoff Classic in 2002, defeating Denver 13-10. In Bill Tierney's first two seasons in Denver, the Pios traveled to the Dome in 2010 (L, 9-15) and 2011 (L 7-13). The two teams last played in the 2013 national semifinal in Philadelphia. Syracuse scored twice in the final minute to earn a one-goal win (9-8) and advance to the national championship against Duke.
DENVER IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
- Denver is in the middle of its 13th appearance in the NCAA Tournament, the program's first since the 2021 campaign.
- Six current Denver starters played in Denver's last appearance in 2021: Jake Edinger (1CT), JJ Sillstrop, AJ Mercurio (2CT/2GB), Jack DiBenedetto, Alec Stathakis (6- 11, 3GB) and Adam Hangland (2GB).
- The Pioneers are 15-11 overall in the NCAA Tournament.
- Denver is 5-2 in the national quarterfinals with wins against Hopkins (2011), North Carolina (2013), Drexel (2014), Ohio State (2015) and Notre Dame (2017).
- The Pios two losses in the quarterfinals came to Loyola (2012) and Albany (2018).
RESET:
Denver has a 22-9 advantage over its opponents in goals off resets this year, including 17-4 in games the Pioneers go on to win.
The margin is Denver's widest since holding a 42-17 advantage in goals off resets in the 2021 season.
LAST TIME OUT:
Denver raced out to a 7-1 first quarter on its way to a 16-11 NCAA First Round win over Big Ten champion Michigan on Saturday afternoon in-front of the fifth-largest crowd in the history of Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium.
FULL RECAP
15-STRAIGHT WEEKS IN THE TOP-10
Earlier in the 2024 season, Denver rejoined the top-5 for the first time since 2021, the top-4 for the first time since 2018 and sat at the top spot nationally for the first time since 2017. After starting the campaign outside the top-10, Denver has spent the last 15 weeks inside the top-10.
MAN-UP/MAN-DOWN
- Denver entered the week first in the country in man-down defense, stopping teams at a 83.3% clip (25-30).
- The Pioneers five goals allowed on the penalty kill are also the least in the country, three less than the next closest (UMass - 8).
- Denver's defense's 30 man-down situations are tied for fifth-least in the country heading into the NCAA Tournament.
- The Pios are 7th in man-up offense, converting at 47.6-percent (20-for-42). Denver went 5-for-6 on the man-up vs. Cornell on Feb. 24, its best output on the man-up since scoring five against North Carolina on March 1, 2020.
- The 20 man-up goals is tied for 11th nationally.
A FIRST QUARTER TO REMEMBER
- Denver outscored Michigan 7-1 in the first quarter of the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium on May 11 en-route to a 16-11 win.
- The Pioneers scored seven in a quarter for the first time since March 19, 2023 vs. Ohio State.
- Denver scored seven in a first quarter for the first time since scoring nine in the first 15 minutes at Villanova on April 6, 2018 (Ethan Walker: 4, Ted Sullivan: 2).
- DU had scored seven first quarter goals in its four previous games combined.
- The Pios entered the NCAA Tournament averaging 2.57 goals per first quarter.
- Denver's 16 goals in the game tied for its third most in an NCAA Tournament game.
- The Crimson and Gold's best quarter statistically this season has been the third, where they outscore opponents 50-28.
SILLSTROP GETTING HIS GROOVE BACK
- Graduate student attackman JJ Sillstrop had 18 goals in the Pios first six games this season, netting multiple goals in every game and his first career sock trick in the overtime opener at then-No. 6 Johns Hopkins.
- Sillstrop scored just three goals in Denver's next seven games, and added eight assists for 11 points in the spell.
- In the postseason, Sillstrop has recorded hat tricks in both the BIG EAST Semifinal at Villanova and in the NCAA Tournament First Round game against Michigan (6-of-14 shooting).
DEFENSE TO OFFENSE
DENVER'S SPECIAL TEAMS IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
- In Denver's 26 previous NCAA Tournament games, the Pioneers are 37-for-91 in man-up situations (40.7%), while Denver's penalty kill has allowed its opponent's man-up to go 34-for-78 (43.6%).
- Denver has faced off at a 57.3% clip (378-for-660).
- Denver's clearing game in the NCAA's is only 339-for-409 (82.9%). The Pioneers opponents are clearing at 91.1% (362-for-397).
- Since 2016 (last 8 games), Denver's man-up is 8-for-19 (42.1%), while its opponents are 8-for-21 (38.1%).
- Denver has faced off at 67.8% in the last seven, and cleared at 89.2%.
2024 CAPTAINS
ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY
- The 2024 Denver Pioneers have players from 20 different states.
- Since turning Division I ahead of the 1999 season, the Pioneers have had players from 35 different states.
- The 35 states are: Alabama (1), Arizona (3), California (27), Colorado (100), Connecticut (32), Delaware (1), Florida (5), Georgia (6), Idaho (2), Illinois (10), Indiana (2), Iowa (1), Kansas (1), Kentucky (2), Maine (2), Maryland (24), Massachusetts (10), Michigan (8), Minnesota (9), Missouri (6), Nevada (3), New Hampshire (1), New Jersey (26), New York (21), North Carolina (3), Ohio (22), Oregon (4), Penn (11), Rhode Island (3), Tennessee (3), Texas (10), Utah (1), Vermont (1), Virginia (4), Washington (10).
- Last season's roster added three states to that list this season in Iowa (Provenza), Kansas (Eldred) and Utah (Caldwell).
- The Pios have had 20+ from seven states: Colorado (100), Connecticut (32), California(27), New Jersey(26), Maryland(24), Ohio (22), New York (21).
- Denver's DI student-athletes also cover three provinces of Canada: Alberta (2), B.C. (15) and Ontario (16).
DENVER'S HOME FOR COLLEGE SPORTS
Visit DenverPioneers.com for complete coverage of all 18 of DU's NCAA Division I sports.
Like Denver Pioneers and DU Men's Lacrosse on Facebook
Follow @DU_Pioneers and @DU_MLAX on Twitter
Follow @denverpioneers and @denvermlax on Instagram
