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The Denver Pioneers are the 20th team in our 2019 schedule preview series and the third team from the Big East. The Pioneers finished 13-4 in 2018 and 5-0 in Big East play. Denver fell once again in the Big East Tournament, this time to Georgetown in the conference championship game, but defeated Notre Dame in the first round of the NCAA Tournament before falling to Albany in the quarterfinals.
Here’s their entire 2019 schedule:
Denver’s 2019 Schedule
| Date | Road Team | Home Team | Special Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Road Team | Home Team | Special Notes |
| 1/26 | Colorado Mesa (D2), Colorado College (D3), Colorado State (MCLA) | Denver | Scrimmages |
| 2/2 | Denver | Delaware | Scrimmage |
| 2/9 | Air Force | Denver | |
| 2/16 | Denver | Duke | |
| 2/23 | Utah | Denver | Faceoff Classic, First ever meeting |
| 2/24 | Cleveland State | Denver | Faceoff Classic |
| 3/2 | Denver | North Carolina | |
| 3/9 | Notre Dame | Denver | Pacific Coast Shootout (in Costa Mesa, CA) |
| 3/16 | Denver | Ohio State | |
| 3/23 | Denver | Towson | |
| 3/26 | Denver | Princeton | First ever meeting; Bill Tierney's first game at Princeton since leaving |
| 3/30 | Georgetown | Denver | Big East |
| 4/6 | Villanova | Denver | Big East |
| 4/13 | Denver | St. John's | Big East |
| 4/20 | Providence | Denver | Big East |
| 4/26 | Denver | Marquette | Big East |
Who’s In?
- Utah Utes (2/23)
- Princeton Tigers (3/26)
Who’s Out?
- Furman Paladins (13-8 W)
Average Winning Percentage From 2018 Teams
- Overall: .512
- Nonconference: .517
- Big East: .504
Circle These Dates
- 2/16 (at Duke): It looked like the Pioneers would take home the victory after impressive first and third quarters. But that’s why you play four quarters. Duke came out and scored seven times in the final quarter to take a three-goal win. And that was with the Blue Devils winning only seven faceoffs.
- 3/2 (at North Carolina): UNC was a weird team last year, finishing 7-7 and not making the ACC or NCAA Tournaments. But the Tar Heels made their matchup against the Pioneers an interesting one outside of Denver scoring five straight goals in the first half. North Carolina made it a two-goal game twice in the second half, but the Pioneers stopped any possible rally.
- 3/9 (vs. Notre Dame at the Pacific Coast Shootout in Costa Mesa, CA): The sport’s best western rivalry returns to the left coast this season, and that’s really great for fans out in California. This game always brings excitement for everyone watching at home or on site, especially the two meetings last year. It might not be the style of lacrosse most people are used to, but sometimes it’s good to be different.
- 3/26 (at Princeton): The Bill Tierney game. It’ll be the coach’s first time back at his old stomping grounds for a regular season game since he left for Denver. It won’t be a simple “welcome back” game either. Michael Sowers is one of the best attackmen in the country despite being overshadowed by Jeff Teat in his own conference.
- 3/30 (vs. Georgetown): The best Big East team in the regular season against last year’s Big East champion. It’s weird that Denver hasn’t won the conference title since 2015, when they won it all. They’re undoubtedly the best team in the conference, but have found a way to not win the conference title. Georgetown looks to carry momentum from last year over to this season, especially with getting Daniel Bucaro back.
For other schedules and team rosters, check out our Men’s Division I matrix.