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The Denver Pioneers are the 1st team in our 2020 men’s college lacrosse schedule preview series and the first team from the Big East. The Pioneers finished 10-5 in 2019 and 4-1 in Big East play. Denver lost to Georgetown in the Big East Championship for the second consecutive year and missed out on the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2009.
Here’s their entire 2020 schedule:
Denver’s 2020 Schedule
| Date | Road Team | Home Team | Special Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Road Team | Home Team | Special Notes |
| 2/1 | Delaware | Denver | Scrimmage |
| 2/8 | Denver | Air Force | |
| 2/15 | Duke | Denver | |
| 2/22 | St. Bonaventure | Denver | Faceoff Classic, First ever meeting |
| 2/23 | Cleveland State | Denver | Faceoff Classic |
| 3/1 | North Carolina | Denver | |
| 3/7 | Denver | Notre Dame | |
| 3/15 | Denver | Ohio State | First meeting since 2018 (last year's game was cancelled) |
| 3/21 | Towson | Denver | |
| 3/28 | Denver | Georgetown | Big East |
| 4/4 | Denver | Villanova | Big East |
| 4/11 | St. John's | Denver | Big East |
| 4/18 | Denver | Providence | Big East |
| 4/24 | Marquette | Denver | Big East |
Who’s In?
- St. Bonaventure Bonnies (2/22)
- Ohio State Buckeyes (3/15)
Who’s Out?
- Utah Utes (15-6 W)
- Princeton Tigers (14-13 L)
Denver’s Opponent’s 2019 Average Win Percentage & RPI
| Avg. overall win pct. | Avg. nonconference win pct. | Avg. conference win pct. | Avg. overall RPI | Avg. nonconference RPI | Avg. conference RPI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg. overall win pct. | Avg. nonconference win pct. | Avg. conference win pct. | Avg. overall RPI | Avg. nonconference RPI | Avg. conference RPI |
| .522 | .547 | .482 | 27.77 | 23.25 | 35 |
Circle These Dates
- 2/15 vs. Duke: One of the more marquee early season matchups, the series returns to Denver after spending the last two seasons in Durham. Both of those games saw Duke come out with a victory, including last season’s last second thriller. Denver won the last time the game was held at Peter Barton Stadium back in 2017.
- 3/7 at Notre Dame: If Johns Hopkins and Maryland is the lacrosse rivalry of the east, Denver and Notre Dame make up the lacrosse rivalry of the west. This will be the 25th time the two teams meet with the Fighting Irish holding a four-game edge. But the Pioneers have won seven of the last nine meetings, including three NCAA Tournament matchups.
- 3/15 at Ohio State: Last year’s meeting with the Buckeyes was cancelled due to the Bomb Cyclone that hit the Denver area. That game may have hurt both teams and their at-large chances in the NCAA Tournament. Both teams have split the all-time series with 12 wins each, but the Buckeyes hold a 6-3 advantage in games played in Columbus including a nine-goal win back in 2017. Denver last defeated the Buckeyes on the road in 2013.
- 3/21 vs. Towson: Each of their last four meetings have been decided by a goal. Denver lost the first matchup back in the 2016 NCAA Tournament at home. The Tigers have become a very difficult team to face, especially with their defense with Shawn Nadelen as head coach. But Towson does lose a number of key contributors such as Brendan Sunday and Alex Woodall.
- 3/28 at Georgetown: The Big East conference matchup to watch for Denver is against Georgetown. Denver has had their number in the regular season, as well as every team in the conference. But the Hoyas have defeated the Pioneers in the conference title game the last two seasons. Georgetown won’t have Daniel Bucaro or Lucas Wittenberg on offense, but Jake Carraway, Robert Clark, and potentially Colin Munro, the son of former DU head coach Jamie Munro, could give some trouble to the Pios.