DENVER -- The No. 17 University of Denver women's lacrosse team welcomes the Towson Tigers in its home opener at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium on Thursday at 12 p.m. MT. 

The Pioneers are coming off a perfect 2-0 opening weekend with wins over USC and Arizona State. Denver is 0-2 all-time against Towson with the most recent coming as a 10-12 loss on March 25, 2011.

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE

• Denver completed a perfect opening weekend on the road with a 15-4 win over USC and a 14-7 win over ASU. 
• DU will open its 2026 home season against Towson on Feb. 19 at 12 p.m. MT.
• The Pioneers travel to Tennessee to take on Vanderbilt on Feb. 22 at 11 a.m. MT in Nashville. 

NEW GOALIE-KEEPER

• Lauren Spence joins the Pioneers this season as goalkeeper coach.
• Prior to joining the Pioneers, Spence was a three-year starting goalkeeper for Loyola and was a three-time IWLCA All-Mid-Atlantic Selection and two-time Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Year and USA Lacrosse Magazine All-American.
• Spence played alongside former Pioneer Lauren Black with Team Canada at the 2022 World Games, posting a 5-0 record with 53 saves en-route to a gold medal performance.

2026 CAPTAINS

• The Pioneers selected seniors Carly Frohnapfel, Landry Grover and Megan Klingenberg and junior Olivia Ripple as captains for the 2026 season.
• Frohnapfel started all 20 games for the Pioneers last season. The defender recorded 18 ground balls and was a force in the crease causing 19 turnovers.
• Grover appeared in 19 games and 18 as a starter. She ranked second on the team with 37 ground balls and caused 21 turnovers.
• Klingenberg has started all but one game in her career with the Pioneers, including 20 last season. The midfielder led the squad with 44 ground balls and third with 25 caused turnovers and was a Big East All-Conference and All-Tournament Team selection. 
• Ripple led the Pioneers with 76 points on 63 goals and 13 assists last season. THe attacker was named the Big East Tournament Most Outstanding Player, a Big East All-Conference selection, and an All-West/Midwest Region First Team selection.

A BALANCED OFFENSE

• The Pioneers had the 17th ranked scoring offense, averaging 14.40 goals per game in 2025.
• During the 2025 campaign, Denver had five different players with 20 or more goals and returns four of its top eight goal scorers.
• Olivia Ripple led the offense with 76 points on 63 goals and 13 assists. Eva Thomsen-Marr has 33 goals and 24 assists and Caroline Bowers tallied 22 goals.

CLOSING IN ON THE CENTURY MARK

• Senior attacker Ryan Dineen is 21 goals from the 100 goal career milestone and junior attacker Olivia Ripple is 20 goals from reaching the 100 goal career milestone.
• Ripple has appeared in 31 games thus far in her career and Dineen has appeared in 63 games.
• Lauren Black was the most recent Pioneer to do so in 2025 in just 53 games.

Visit DenverPioneers.com for complete coverage of all 18 of DU's NCAA Division I sports
Like Denver Pioneers and Denver Women's Lacrosse on Facebook
Follow @DU_Pioneers and @DU_WLAX on Twitter
Follow @DenverPioneers and @DU_WLAX on Instagram