DENVER (4/1/11) - The University of Colorado men's lacrosse team will face in-state rival, the Colorado State Rams, on Saturday Apr. 16 at 6 p.m. in the 8th Annual Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Showdown presented by IP5280 at INVESCO Field at Mile High.
"Every time our two teams step on the field, it is a passionate game," said Colorado head coach Mike Ryder. "To meet our rival on a big stage is going to be a challenge, but I think the staff is confident and our players are confident that we will be able to put a loss in CSU's win column."
It will be a full day of lacrosse on the home turf of the Denver Outlaws of Major League Lacrosse and the Denver Broncos of the National Football League as the University of Denver men's lacrosse team will play Ohio State prior to the CU-CSU game at 3 p.m.
Admission to both games is $10 in advance or $12 at the INVESCO Field box office on game day. Tickets can be bought from members of the CU men's lacrosse team or online at www.lacrosseshowdown.com or at http://www.ticketmaster.com/Rocky-Mountain-Lacrosse-Showdown-tickets/artist/1565161.
The Buffaloes and the Rams last met at INVESCO Field in 2008 in which CSU won 8-4, but Colorado delivered pay back the next year as they defeated Colorado State 11-4 at Folsom Field in Boulder. Last year, the two teams met at Dicks Sporting Goods Park, the home of the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer and of the Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association National Championships for the past two years, in a game in which the Rams ended up prevailing 13-6.
The MCLA National Championships will once again be played at Dicks Sporting Goods Park this season.
Last year's matchup with the Rams was Ryder's first game as head coach with Buffs after CU made a coaching change in the middle of the season.
"Last year was a tough game because we had just taken over as a new staff three days earlier," Ryder said. "We hadn't had the chance to put in new systems and we had to use our old systems in the CSU game. We didn't have much success with those old systems, but the next week we were able to turn it around and beat No. 1 Michigan with our systems in place. It will be nice to see our team compete in a non fall ball atmosphere against Colorado State with our new systems because we are confident in what we run, but CSU is a very good team also."
Colorado and Colorado State are two of the top teams in the nation as both squads frequently represent their conference, the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Conference, at the MCLA National Championships. This season hasn't been any different as both the Buffs and the Rams have been ranked in the top 10 in the country all season.
The Buffs meeting with the Rams in Denver may not be the two schools only meeting this year as the clubs may meet again in the RMLC Playoffs on May 5-7 in Grand Junction, Colo., and at the National Tournament on May 17-21.
Colorado is currently 6-2 this season and holds a 1-1 record in conference play. The Buffs will play three games prior to the Rams in Denver as they'll face Wyoming on Saturday, Chapman on Apr. 9 at 3 p.m. and Texas Tech on Apr. 10 at 1 p.m. All three games will be played at Kittredge Field on the CU-Boulder campus.
For more information on CU Buffs lacrosse, visit the team website at http://culax.org/. To get an inside look at the CU team, go to http://www.redhotbuffs.com/.
Information links
Event website: http://www.lacrosseshowdown.com/
Colorado men's lacrosse website: http://culax.org/
Colorado State men's lacrosse website: http://csulacrosse.com/
League website: http://mcla.us/
Conference website: http://mcla.us/RMLC/
MCLA news website: http://www.collegelax.us/
CU Collegiate Sport Clubs website: http://www.cubuffs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=600&ATCLID=1474102
