DENVER – The Colorado Buffaloes men’s lacrosse team will face NCAA D-I Denver and MCLA rival Brigham Young in a scrimmage on Saturday Oct. 16 at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium. CU will face the BYU Cougars at 4:30 p.m. and the DU Pioneers at 6:30 p.m.
“We are extremely excited about playing BYU and DU,” said CU head coach Mike Ryder. “Playing one of our most heated rivals in the RMLC is a great experience for our new guys to get acquainted with the MCLA and the passion that goes into our games. Also playing the Denver Pioneers is a great opportunity for our program and the MCLA.”After playing the toughest schedule in the country last season according to laxpower.com, the Buffs finished eighth in the nation in the final poll with a 7-8 overall record. Colorado did have a few big wins during the season with them defeating BYU, Simon Fraser and Michigan. The Wolverines had won 49 consecutive games before losing in Boulder on Apr. 9.
CU squeaked their way into the MCLA National Championships in Commerce City in May with an 11 seed and showed that they deserved to be there after upsetting No. 6 Oregon 9-8 in the opening round. In the quarterfinals, Colorado played No. 3 Arizona State tough until the very end but would lose 13-11 after the Sun Devils scored twice in the final three minutes.
The scrimmages will be shortened games that will consist of two 23 minutes halves instead of the normal four 15 minute quarter.
Colorado State will also participate in the day’s scrimmages against BYU and DU but the Buffs and Rams are not scheduled to play each other.
The rest of Colorado’s fall schedule includes a black and gold scrimmage on Oct. 22, the annual alumni game on Oct. 23, and the Pumpkin Shootout on Oct. 30 in Golden where they’ll play Northern Colorado, Colorado State, and Regis University.
CU begins the 2011 season on Mar. 5 at home against the University of Kansas.
Scouting BYU and Denver
BYU had another outstanding year in 2010 with them finishing with an 11-5 record in the regular season. The three time national champion Cougars fell to Colorado State in the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Conference championship game but still went to nationals as the eight seed. After easily defeating Michigan State 13-8 in the opening round, BYU would fall in the quarterfinals to Michigan who would go on to win their third straight title. The Cougars ended the year at number six in the polls.
The 2010 season was a successful one for Denver and first year head coach Bill Tierney as the Pioneers went 12-5 overall and won the Eastern College Athletic Conference. Tierney, who spent 22 seasons and won six NCAA Championships at Princeton, led Denver to a No. 9 ranking at the end of the year and a trip to the national tournament against Stony Brook. The Pioneers were defeated 9-7 by the Seawolves in the first round the NCAA Tournament but their impressive season showed the lacrosse world that DU is on the rise and will be a contender for the championship in the near future.
