LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - Despite an eight-point showing from senior Mark Matthews (Oshawa, Ontario), the University of Denver men's lacrosse team fell 16-15 in overtime to the U.S. National Team on Sunday afternoon from ESPN's Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
Matthews finished with eight points on four goals and four assists, while fellow senior Patrick Rogers (Portland, Ore.) added five goals. Also scoring for the Pioneers was junior Eric Law (Centennial, Colo.) with three goals and junior Cameron Flint (Georgetown, Ontario) with two goals. Senior Alex Demopoulos (Canton, Conn.) rounded out the scoring with one goal and three assists for four points.
Sophomore Jamie Faus (Lakeville, Conn.) finished with an impressive 14 saves while allowing only 16 goals. The sophomore faced 64 shots.
Kevin Leveille led the U.S. National Team with five goals and one assist, while Chazz Woodson finished with three goals and an assist. Goalkeeper Drew Adams made 11 saves and allowed eight goals in 34 minutes of action.
After the United States' Matt Stiebel opened the scoring just three minutes into the action with an unassisted goal, DU's Law scored with 9:53 on the clock off a pass from Matthews. Matthews found the back of the net less than two minutes later off a pass from Law and the Pioneers tool a 2-1 advantage. Denver extended its lead to 3-1 with 6:38 left to play as Law scored a man-up goal off a pass from Matthews.
USA answered 37 seconds later off a goal by Stephen Berger and then tied the game at 3-3 with 3:52 left to play in the quarter.
Both teams exchanged two goals apiece to open the second quarter. It wasn't until the 5:15 mark that the U.S. took the advantage off a goal by Max Seibald. Berger gave the U.S. team a two-goal cushion with 4:39 to play.
Demopoulos scored for Denver with 2:02 remaining, but the U.S. had two goals from Woodson to take a 9-6 lead with 1:26 before the half. Flint cut the deficit to two goals with a goal with 12 second left on the clock.
Denver outscored the U.S. 5-3 in the third quarter to tie the game at 12-12 with goals from Matthews, Flint, Rogers (2) and Law. The U.S. took a two-goal lead within the first three minutes of action of the fourth quarter, and then after a goal by Matthews, took a 15-13 lead off a goal by Leveille with 10:23 left. Rogers scored the Pioneers' final two goals to send the game into overtime.
Leveille scored the game-winner with 1:11 left in extra time to give the U.S. team the 16-15 win.
Fans can watch the replay of today's game on ESPNU at 8 p.m. MT. Denver opens the season against Ohio State in the Moe's Southwest Classic on Sunday, Feb. 19. The Pioneers then return home to host Michigan on Saturday, Feb. 25 at 1:30 p.m. MT in the first game of the DU Face-Off Classic.