Pioneers top Outlaws 11-10 in Colorado Lacrosse Showcase

DENVER – The University of Denver men’s lacrosse team defeated the Denver Outlaws 11-10 this afternoon at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium in the Fourth Annual Colorado Lacrosse Showcase. Led by freshman Gordie Koerber’s (Baltimore, Md.) five goals on eight shots and senior Eric Law’s (Centennial, Colo.)three assists, the Pioneers remained undefeated in their fall ball schedule.

“We’re honored to have the Denver Outlaws come out and play for us,” said head coach Bill Tierney. “They come out each year and play hard and I think for our guys it’s a little bit of a shock to play against professional athletes. They put a lot of pressure on us and it was fun to see Mark and Alex back here at Peter Barton.”

Sophomore goaltender Ryan LaPlante (Fort Collins, Colo.) was able to hold off the high power Outlaws’ offense which included last year graduates and Pioneer standouts Mark Matthews and Alex Demopolous who own the number one and two spots in the University of Denver Division I record books for total points. LaPlante made 17 saves on the day including six in the first quarter.

Also scoring for the Pioneers was sophomore Wes Berg (Coquitlam, British Columbia), senior Chase Carraro (Louisville, Ky.), senior Taylor Young (Littleton, Colo.), sophomore Tyler Ekeroth (San Diego, Calif.), freshman Walter Rooney (Rockville, Conn.) and freshman Tom Moore (West Islip, N.Y.) with ones goals each.

Berg netted an assist along with sophomore Eric Adamson (Anaheim Hills, Calif.) and junior Nick Perfido (Heathrow, Fla.).

Along with his 17 saves, LaPlante finished the day with five ground balls and three caused turnovers.

Four Denver Outlaws led the way in scoring as Chris Bockley, Mark Matthews, Alex Demopouls and Drew Snider all scored two goals each. Also scoring was Josh Sims and Jeremy Sieverts. Demopoulos finished the day with two assists, bring his total to four points, while Snider, Sims and Nate Watkins all finished with one assist each. Goalie Ben Brown finished the day with 11 saves.

The Outlaws held the advantage in shots (46-37), ground balls (36-33) and face-offs (15-of-24 to 9-of-24).

The Pioneers next game comes on Saturday, Jan. 26 against North Carolina, as Denver heads to Chapel Hill, N.C. for its final pre-season scrimmage.